Courage, Bravery, Integrity: Trinity
by GuffeyManipulation
Summary: Zachary, Amber, and Magenta continue their fight against the White Fang and the Milos Syndicate, as well as dealing with their own individual problems. Sequel to my Canon story, Courage, Bravery, Integrity: Canon.
1. Chapter 1: Back Home

**This is the Sequel(Sort of) to Courage, Bravery, Integrity Canon from my profile. If you are reading this as a new reader, I suggest you go read that first, but I ain't gonna stop you if you want to skip straight to the end of Volume 2. Enjoy!**

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_**Zachary's POV**_

I sat atop the cliff facing the city with the rest of Team RWBY. The last 12 hours have just been a haze of congratulations and awards to the Hunters that fought, my Teams. I smiled happily as Yang finally broke the silence.

"Well, we did it." Blake agreed.

"We did it." I nodded mellowly.

"We did it." Weiss raised a hand, breaking the train.

"If we don't get extra credit for that, I'm going to be seriously disappointed." Yang chuckled.

"Weiss, a two headed snake literally crushed a Bakery. I wouldn't count on it."

"Plus, I mean, we didn't everything. A lot of people were hurt and we still don't even know why they did this or who that mystery girl was." _What Mystery Girl? _Weiss shook her head.

"Well, not every story has a neat and tidy ending." I leaned forward to look at her.

"You really believe this is 'the ending?'" Blake shrugged.

"We might not have all of the answers, but we do have a lot of dangerous people behind bars, and I think that's something we can be proud of." Ruby nodded happily.

"Yeah, and if anyone tries something like this again, we'll be there to stop them." Yang stretched her arms, falling on her back lazily. Zwei followed suit quickly.

"Yaaaaay, teamwork, honorary, good guys, go team, alright." She pushed herself up on her elbows.

"So, what now?" I glanced down at her before looking back at the city.

"Training for the Tournament." Weiss snorted.

"I think we have that covered at this point." I smiled, mumbling.

"Yeah, I guess you guys do." Yang ran off her words again.

"So then…?" Ruby pitched an idea.

"Time for bed?" They all started agreeing, getting up before I started to stop them.

"Hold up. I still haven't been briefed on the Mission, and I don't think Ozpin is gonna hand over the files." They all looked at each other before they started for the Dorms anyway. Yang held back to pull me along.

"Tomorrow. For now, let us rest. We've had a long couple days." I stared at her for a moment before I started towards the Dorms with her, hand in hand.

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_**Maggie's POV**_

I trudged back to my Dorm slowly, the Bullhead had just dropped me off from the city. I had spent the entire day avoiding all the cameras and military enforcement that had swarmed the city from the Breach. I finally made it back near dusk. I heard my Scroll go off in my pocket, but I didn't bother picking it up. I already knew that it was Steel, considering the calls he's already sent since they had seen each other. I glanced down to see my fists clenched and slowly opened them up again. A part of me, deep down, really wants to pick up the phone and talk to him, but my anger had taken over. What he did to me… us was unforgivable. The Scroll finally stopped ringing, and a moment later, I could hear that he had left a voicemail. I growled, and pulled out my Scroll, quickly going for the off button until it powered down. I shoved back in my pocket as I walked through the doors of the Dorm building. I walked up the stairs and went straight for my room. I didn't feel like entertaining any of my friends right now, and really, _really_, just wanted to sit down on her bed, pop open a can of soda, and shoot something in my game. I got to my door and opened it up, closing it behind me as soon as I was inside.

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_**Amber's POV**_

I laid on the bed in my new room. Goodwitch had shown me to my Dorm room about an hour ago, and since then, I had just been lying on my bed thinking about the events that have transpired over the past day, every detail of the mission. It was all just so crazy. I ended up on the thought of the Man in the Orange Suit. Who was this guy? I didn't know my Master had any siblings, and why would his brother be a Criminal Mastermind? What about Agni? He had those artificial wings on his back, but why? I wiped my face with my hand, as if I could wipe the thoughts away as well, but to no avail. I laid there for a moment, trying to clear my mind when there was a knock at my door. I slowly stood up and walked over. I opened the door, revealing Zach on the other side. He had a tight smile, obviously tired.

"Hey, I just wanted to stop by to see your new apartment." I stared at him for a second before I stepped back, letting him into the Dorm. He gladly accepting, walking into the room until he stood in the middle of the foyer, looking around. "Huh, it's the same design as my place." I nodded.

"Yes. That was the first thing I noticed when I walked in." He shrugged.

"Whatever." He turned to me as I closed the door to the hallway, the smile lowering on his face. "What I really wanted was a briefing on the mission. From what I heard, you guys were fighting the White Fang at Mountain Glenn." I nodded.

"Yeah."

"While you guys were doing that, I was infiltrating the Mansion of the Milos Family, my Family." I nodded.

"Yes, the Assassins." He started to shake his head, but looked down instead.

"Right, anyways, while I was in there, everybody was gone, around 80 people in the City for some 'big event.' While I was in there, I found a treaty with the White Fang, the Breach was the big event." He stopped for a second, taking in a breath. "Was there something different about the people you were fighting? Like two groups working together?" I thought back to the Train.

"Yes, there were people wearing black and orange that were fighting alongside the soldiers. They seemed to be in charge of the White Fang's forces." He frowned.

"Yeah, that was them. What else?" I thought back to the engine room. The fight with the man in the Orange Suit.

"There was a man with Torchwick. Someone that seemed like his equal. He was an old man wearing a suit, but he was immensely powerful." I had left out Agni. I wasn't going to say anything about him until I figured out why he was there. I stopped, thinking about what he was implying. "Wait, you don't think…" He nodded.

"I think you're talking about Gra-... Cain, the head of the Family. He would be in charge of the others if he was there." My mind was blank, just a calm mind before the storm. Thoughts then started forming in my head, putting together what happened during the mission to what he was saying until I realized something. I looked back up at Zach. With a low, more feral voice, I spoke.

"Cain, the leader. Did he have a brother?" Zach stared at me.

"Yes, but he died many years ago, close to when I was born." I stared at him, taking it in.

"His brother did not die." He blinked twice.

"What are you talking about?" I glared at him.

"His brother's name was Abel and he did not die all those years ago. He died just last week, now buried beside my house in the forest." Zach stared at me.

"Are you saying…?" I nodded slowly. He put a hand up to wipe his face before he responded.

"Oh my god. Oh my fucking god, this isn't possible, how could this be possible?" He had started pacing in front of me. "If your Master is my Great Uncle, then how was he alive?" I shrugged.

"I don't know."

"Why did he leave to train you?"

"I don't know."

"When your master was alive did he say anything, anything at all about My family over the years, maybe something he kept in that cabin to-" I yelled over him.

"Zach, I don't know!" He went silent, staring at me before he just plopped down on the floor, leaning his back against the foyer wall. I sat down across from him, leaning against the other side. After a couple minutes of silence, he finally spoke.

"You know, if you think about it. Since your were raised by my Great Uncle, that could make us practically brothers." He started to crack a smile, and I couldn't help but laugh. At least, he could still keep it light after all of this.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that." We chuckled for a couple seconds, just trying to hold onto whatever sense that we knew what was going on that was left. Zach suddenly stood up.

"Well, I'm heading back to my Dorm. Tomorrow, I'll text you. You and Team RWBY are gonna give me a full briefing for your mission." I smiled standing up as well.

"Of course." He put out a hand and I grasped it tightly.

"Tomorrow." He said. I nodded my head and we let go. He left my Dorm without another word.

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**Hey, guys. A short, honestly pretty lame chapter, but I needed to start the new Season off with something, so here ya go! More will be brought soon in the future, cause I can't wait to start the new Arc! GuffeyManipulation out!**


	2. Chapter 2: The Invitation

_**Zachary's POV**_

"That's it then?" I sat in my Dorm with Team RWBY and Amber. I had awoken them all an hour before noon, tired of waiting, and for the last hour, they had been telling me the events of their mission. From the time they landed, to the fights on the train, to the Grimm Breach. I had already explained to the others what I had found in the mansion, and that the man that Amber had fought was Cain. I had held the information that he was my Grandfather, not that it wasn't obvious that he was my family, but my preference to distance myself from them as much as I could. I leaned back on the couch, looking at Amber, who was leaning against the bookcase. "The guy with Cain, Agni was his name?" Amber nodded slowly. "In my time with the Syndicate, I hadn't heard of anyone by that name. I'm not surprised that he was called Cain's "Angel" though. The old man always had a religious heart."

"What's our plan now?" Ruby said. I thought for a second before shaking my head.

"Not sure. Even with Torchwick taken care of, the White Fang will find a way to continue their work, and with the Syndicate on their side, they're more than dangerous." I stopped, expecting someone else to speak, but when nobody did, I continued. "Let's just continue what we've been doing. Infiltrating White Fang meetings, Interrogating the right people, we'll find what we need soon enough."

"And what do we need?" They all looked at me expectantly, but all I could do is shake my head.

"I don't know. All I can say is that we'll know when we hear it." There was a knock at the door as I finished the sentence. We all looked at the door, but I was the only to stand and walk to the door. When I opened it, I found a Faunus boy before me, fox ears came out of his hair, maybe the age of 10. He wore ratty clothes, torn at the knees and elbows, clearly to large for him as well. His hair was long, near his shoulders. He looked up at me.

"Are you Zachary?"I turned around to see my friends leaning to look at who was at the door. I walked out and closed the door behind me. I turned back at the boy.

"Yeah, that's me." He held up an envelope, a symbol on the seal. A symbol from the Milos Language. I slowly took the envelope.

"Who sent you?" He shrugged.

"Paid me not to say." I stared down at him.

"How much?"

"40 Lien. Was clear he had more than that though." I was staring at the letter, but looked back at him again.

"You seem rather happy to tell me what you can."

"You look like you've got a bit of Lien hanging around in those pockets. What you want can bought just as easily as my silence." I stared at him, thinking he was joking before I realized he was being serious. I chuckled lightly.

"Who takes care of you?" He shook his head.

"Nobody. I take care of myself." I squatted down so I was eye to eye with him.

"Bull. no boy your age can analyze people as well as you do unless they were trained." He laughed quietly before he raised a hand.

"100 Lien and I'll tell you everything." I stared at him for a second before responding.

"60 Lien and you've got a deal." He smiled devilishly.

"100 Lien, or I leave." I glared at him for a second before cursing.

"Fuck. Fine, I'll be right back." I opened the door to my Dorm, rushing to my room. The others followed quickly, watching at the doorway as I started searching my dirty pants for my wallet. Weiss spoke quietly.

"So, Zach. Who's your little friend?" I glared at her as I rifled through a pair of jeans, finally finding the money.

"Messenger. Sent a letter. Little ass wants me to bribe him for more information." I raised the newly found wallet, walking past them to the kid outside. His eyes gleamed at the sight of the money. I opened the wallet as I walked out, finding about 150 Lien inside. I pulled out 100 of the money and gave it to him. He gladly took it and pocketed it, walking right inside my Dorm. He plopped down on the couch in between Weiss and Yang, smiling happily.

"Ask me whatever you want." I growled as I walked back into my own Dorm, closing the door behind me. I glared at the smirks and laughs that came from my friends. I stood in front of the smug looking kid.

"Alright, what's your name, kid?"

"Justin."

"Alright, Justin, describe the guy that gave you this." I raised the envelope.

"He was tall, a little taller than you. He wore a black cloak, and a black mask that covered his entire face. It was completely blank and covered up even the eyes. He approached me on the street and talked to me in a nearby alley. He said that if I delivered this letter to you, then he would give me 200 Lien." I shook my head.

"I thought you said he paid you 40." He smirked at me.

"You don't listen well do you? I said he paid me 40 to keep quiet about him, not to give you the letter." I glared at him as my friends snickered again. I turned to them with a glare.

"Alright I'm done, all of you out." They groaned in complaint, but abided by my wishes and left the room. I closed the door behind them and returned to the boy, still sitting on the couch with a smile. "Continue."

"He asked me to give you the letter and he'd pay me. I accepted, obviously, and he gave me the letter."

"What stopped you from taking the money and throwing the letter away?" His smile disappeared and he cleared his throat before answering.

"That's the thing. After he paid me, he said that if I betrayed him, if the letter didn't get to you, then he'd kill me." I smiled.

"Scared, are you?" He glared at me.

"Of this guy? Yeah, I am. He sent me off on a private plane and I ran here."

"If you're scared of this guy, scared to betray him, then why are you telling me all of this?" He leaned back again.

"The money, of course. Your information is feeding me for a month!" I crossed my arms.

"Have you told me everything? Or is there anything else that I want to know?" He shook his head.

"No, I've told you everything." I stared at him for a second, but I couldn't tell anything behind those smug eyes.

"Alright. Now, who takes care of you?" He stared for a second before answering.

"As I've already said, nobody. I take care of myself."

"Then who taught you how to do what you do?" He laughed.

"Nobody! Who cares about a little homeless faunus boy? I take care of me and me only, living on the streets has taught me that." I frowned, but nodded, waving my hand.

"Alright, alright. You're free to go." He smiled and stood up, stalking to the door. Just as he put his hand on the handle, I called out to him.

"And, Justin?" He turned to look at me. "Next time I need someone to find information, expect to be found." He smiled.

"It's been a pleasure doing business with you, Zachary." I nodded.

"Of course." With that, he left. I looked down at the letter, still unopened and sitting on the coffee table. I read the seal's symbol, reading "Milos" in the language. I slowly picked up the letter and sat on the couch, pulling off the seal and opening the letter. Inside was a folded paper, the message written in the Milos Language. I read it slowly, not used to reading full sentences in the language. I read it multiple times, making sure it was right every time until I was sure what I was reading was correct.

/

_Dear Zachary,_

_There have been events that have transpired over the past 3 weeks, some of them favoring us, some of them favoring you and your Allies. I wish to call a truce for a temporary period of time. To discuss, and find a conclusive ending to this dispute. Below, I have written an address. This leads to a small bakery in East Vale, not far from your school. I would like you to come and talk with me. I give my word that you will not be harmed, and that I will be unarmed, and as long as you come unarmed as well, then we shall have no problems. You may bring along one person, that person being Yang Xiao Long, your current Partner. _

_Should you arrive armed or with anybody else, I will take this as a threat and will leave the premises without a second thought. You will find out nothing. You will gain nothing. Nothing will be resolved. Come at 3:00 PM today._

_Sincerely,_

_Cain Milos_

/

I stared at the paper, not sure if I should believe this or not. Cain is many things, a monster, a villain, but he is not a lier. I leaned back in my seat, overwhelmed by the situation. I checked my watch. 12:42. Plenty of time before the meeting. I stood up and headed for the door, walking straight to RWBY's room. I knocked on the door twice before Ruby opened it almost instantly.

"Zach! What did he say?!" She was excited at first, but eventually, her excitement turned into worry. "What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost." I stared at her for a second before I quickly brushed past her, the rest of her team waiting in the room.

"Yang, we need to talk. Privately." They all looked at me with confused looks before Yang stood up, walking over.

"Alright." She followed me out the door and back to our Dorm, where the letter sat opened on the coffee table. She walked over to it, recognizing the symbols.

"Isn't that…?" I nodded.

"The Milos Family Language." She sat down quietly.

"What did it say?" I sat down next to her.

"It's an invitation. It's inviting me to go, unarmed, and speak with Cain in the city. He promises to come unarmed and unmanned as well. In the letter, he said I may bring one friend, but it has to be you." She looked at it with fear in her eyes.

"W-what?" I nodded.

"He is very specific in the letter, that if I bring anyone else, then this transaction isn't going to happen." She swallowed nervously.

"What do I have to do?"


	3. Chapter 3: A Chance of Redemption

_**Zachary's POV**_

There was a heavy silence between Yang and I as we rode the Bull Head to the city. I wanted to say that this was going to be fine, that I could just push out my chest and tough it out, but the words were stuck in my throat. Yang was looking out the window with a relaxed posture, but her jumps at every bit of Turbulence showed her nervousness. I shifted in the chair I was in until I couldn't stand it any longer and stood up, despite the fact that we were still flying. I started slowly pacing along the interior of the plane, quietly trying to think of a plan if this goes south. Cain is smart, and patient. He won't come to the meeting alone, unarmed, but not alone. I'm going to have to look out for Assassins at every corner, watching and waiting for their chance to strike. I can't believe we're actually doing this. This is one of the stupidest things I've ever done. How could I bring Yang into this? How could I endanger h-

"Zach." I turned quickly at Yang, who was still sitting in her seat.

"What?" She tilted her head to the right a bit.

"Are you sure you want to do this? You seem kinda…. Freaked out." I stared at her for a second before shaking my head to clear my thoughts, then giving her a wide smile.

"Nah, I'll be fine. As long as we keep a cool head, and say the right things, and-" She raised a hand.

"Zach, you need to calm down." She stood up from her seat and walked over to me. "This is going to be bad no matter how we play this, so the best thing we can do is just roll along and get this over with." I smiled at her, trying to heed her words and calm down a bit, but the best I could really do is put on a fake smile and nod my head.

"Yeah, we're fine." Before she could say anything, the pilot's voice came over the speakers.

"We are currently making our departure, please prepare to vacate the ship." I looked down at my watch. 2:42. I looked up as the doors on the back of the shuttle opened, letting us out. I turned to Yang.

"You ready? We're only two blocks away." She nodded with a smile.

"Yeah, I'm ready." She grasped my hand and nodded. "Let's go." The two of us stepped out, walking through the street to the bakery. I saw a couple older people smiling and pointing at the two of us as we walked, hand in hand. What would they think if they knew what we were actually up to? We turned the last corner, the Bakery just across the street. The place seemed rather empty, not many people there. We walked over and sat down at one of the outside tables, an umbrella above our heads to block out the sun. Yang and I sat together, chatting a bit as we waited for the man. I looked up at the sun, high in the sky right now.

"It's starting to get hotter. Spring's almost over." She nodded, excitement in her eyes.

"Yeah, I can't wait for Summer. Nothing like the Beach during Summer." I smiled at her.

"We might have to head out there in a couple months." She laughed.

"I'd like that." She was watching me, so we didn't notice the man standing next to our table.

"Why, hello, Zachary. It's nice to see you again." We both looked up to see the man standing there. I recognized the second I laid eyes on him. Cain Milos, head of the Milos family, and the last living son of his father. He wore a dull orange blazer, despite the heat out here. He wore a smile on his face, but his eyes were just as cold as always. I stared at him with a blank face before nodding slowly.

"And you, Cain." He chuckled lightly, sitting down across from us.

"Why just 'Cain,' now? The last time we saw each other you were calling me Grandfather." He smiled again, now looking at Yang. A new light was in his eyes. "Ah! You must Miss Xiao Long! It's nice to finally meet you!" He put out a hand for her to shake across the table. "Cain Milos, nice to meet you." She glanced at me before accepting the hand, shaking it lightly. When they were finished, he put his hands back in his lap. Before he could say anything further, I leaned forward in my seat, putting my elbows on the table.

"You sent for us?" He nodded.

"Yes, and to be honest, I wasn't sure if you would trust me enough to come. I am very happy that you decided to show." He gave me a knowing smile. I fought the urge to gulp, trying to keep my face serious as I rolled my eyes.

"You have given me a whole lot of fucking reasons to not trust you." He gave a slight frown.

"I assume you are speaking about your Sister?" I gave him a cold glare as an answer. He looked down, sighing.

"Zachary, this is a test that is given to all of our Full-fledged Contractors. It is a tradition that has been passed down for years." Yang spoke up.

"I heard what Zach's Uncle did to that girl. What kind of demented test is that supposed to be?" He raised his shoulder in a light shrug.

"A test that distinguishes the Strong," He looked at me. "And the weak." I gave him a long stare, understanding what he was implying.

"Why, exactly, did you decide to mess with my personal life? 6 years you've left me alone, and now, after all this time, you've chosen to attack my Teammates, my friends." He sat back a bit.

"Ah, yes, your friends." He pulled out a scroll from his pocket and reading glasses from inside his Jacket. He scrolled around for a moment before he started.

"Team JNPR, consisting of two girls and two boys. Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren. Leader of the Team, Jaune Arc. Not the smartest of warriors, not the strongest either, but comes from a strong bloodline." He glanced up at me. "A threat. Partner, Pyrrha Nikos. Four Year Mistral Tournament winner, a powerful fighter with a powerful Semblance. A threat. Nora Valkyrie, comes from a small family outside of Valve from a small inconspicuous village, yet has the power and endurance to be one of the strongest fighters in Vale. A threat. Lie Ren, Oldest of 3, resided in the same Village as Miss Valkyrie, but was always the quiet boy, subtly studying his technique until he perfected it. A threat. Amber Pleasant, grew up in the outskirts of Vale in the Emerald Forest. Raised by Abel Milos. Very skilled at fighting with the agility that his wings bring him. A threat. Magenta Everdale. Youngest of 2, Comes from a rather prosperous family in Atlas, moving to Valve alone when she was 12. Has an assortment of Gadgets and Weapons, all created by her. A threat." He looked up at the two of us. "I have more on these children, their weaknesses, their strengths, their secrets." He lowered his head a bit. "Everything." We sat in stunned silence, not sure what to say. He waited a moment before pulling out his scroll again.

"Team RWBY, consisting of four girls. Leader, Ruby Rose. An outstanding fighter for her age,able to take down countless men with little effort on her part, but is held back by her childish mind and secret that keeps her insecure. Yet still, a threat." Yang and I looked at each other with confused looks before he just kept going. "Partner, Weiss Schnee. Cold, calculating, dangerous on every level, but is held back by her insistence to uphold her already dying name. A threat. Blake Belladonna. Veteran of the White Fang's ranks, only able to leave when she abandoned one of her leaders, her partner in the Fang, in fact, in the middle of Forever Fall forest. She is an exceptional fighter, able dodge away from whatever her enemies throw at her. A threat." He then looked up at Yang. "Partner, Yang Xiao Long, sister to Ruby Rose, daughter to Taiyang and Raven Xiao Long. Lived her life with little stress, very intelligent and capable on many levels, but decided not to show it over the years. Trained very hard with her father to be the fighter she is today, capable of taking down literally countless enemies. A danger to all that come across her as an enemy to her cause. Is currently in a relationship with Zachary Milos." He hadn't looked down at his scroll this time, keeping his eyes glued to as he recited her memorized past. He lowered his head again. "A threat." There was silence between the three of us, the rest of the people around us a blur. I spoke quietly, but boldly.

"What are you trying to say with this?" He turned to me with a gleam in his eyes.

"I'm trying to tell you that I know everything there is to know about you, your Teams, everything. We know when you are your weakest, we know when you are your strongest, and we know exactly why you live the way you do. We have studied you and you friends for weeks now, and for one very important reason." He leaned in closer to us. "The Milos Syndicate has plans and your friends are a threat." He leaned back again. "I have come to the conclusion that the easiest way to stop this threat would be to dispatch you and all of your friends before you all become a nuisance on our schedule." Yang and I were going to speak at once, either to counter him or threaten him, but he raised a hand, silencing us.

"But. I have come up with a solution that could resolve this nuisance of mine, and let you friends keep their lives. A compromise that could let everyone get their way." I spoke up.

"And what's that?" He leaned forward, putting his chin in his hands.

"You and Yang will return to the Milos Family to become full fledged members of the family." There was a deadly silence after that. I shook my head a bit before speaking.

"What?" Yang looked just as pale as I did as he continued.

"Zachary, you could regain your family name if you return. You will be reunited with the people you belong with, the people you were born to be with. You were meant to be with us, not off training to be a Hunter. You were born to be a Milos!" He turned to Yang. "And you! I have studied your family's Genealogy myself, and the fire burns bright in your blood! You could come with Zachary, accepted into the family by the binding of marriage!" She stuttered.

"Wh-what?" He continued, not missing a beat.

"Yes, yes! And that's not all! We have information, the information you have been seeking for! Who your mother is, why she left, we know it all." She was sent back, just staring into blank space at the offer. I tried to speak, tried to curse him off, but no sounds came from my throat. He started to stand up.

"Now, I know this is quite the decision I am offering you, so I will give you time to choose. You have exactly one week to answer my offer, to be accepted back-" He looked at Yang. "with your loving wife." He turned back to me, raising a single finger in front of my face. "One week, is what I am giving you to decide, and know this. IF you choose to stay from your family, then we will be forced to take the lives of all your friends. I am giving you an out to this bloodshed. I suggest you take it." With that, he turned on his heels and left, disappearing into the crowd, but I barely noticed him leave. I was still struck by his words, sitting still in my seat as I stared into the nothingness.

* * *

_**Maggie's POV**_

I woke up this morning feeling much better than I had the day before. I looked forward to see that I had left the TV on from last night, the screen still portraying my character standing in third-person. I blinked twice before sitting up, stretching. Scratching at my head, I noticed I had left my headset on as well. My face reddened as I took it off, placing it on my bedside table. I was sure the guys I was playing with could hear me snoring when I fell asleep. I slowly got out of bed, reaching for my Scroll. I sighed as I looked at the notifications that showed up when I turned it back on.

12 missed calls from Steel. I stared at the phone until I noticed that he had only left one message for me. For a moment, I debated deleting it right then, but groaned as I hit play. His voice played into my ear.

"Hey, Mags- I mean, Maggie. Sorry, I know you don't want me to call you that anymore. Habit, I guess. Anyways, I was hoping to talk with you sometime in the future. It turns out I'll be staying on base in Vale for the Vytal Festival. The Altesian Military has been given the duty to keep the citizens safe during the event, so I'll be here for the next couple of months. So, just give me a call, we can hang out some time…. Alright, I know you don't want to hang out with me, but I would like to talk with you. Hell, I just want to say sorry, Maggie. I just want to explain why I went with Ironwood. Could you please give me that chance? Call me back." His voice seemed kind of desperate at the end. He was definitely sorry for leaving, but I knew if he could make the decision he would make it again. I stared down at the Scroll I had placed in my lap, thumbing below the 'Call' button below his name. A part of knows I should give him a chance, a way to explain and talk, but another part of me wants to block his calls and leave him behind. I silently stared at his face until I sighed and threw the device to the side, on my bed. I needed to clear my head. I started for the shower, let the heat of the water wash away my thoughts, but before I could, my Scroll went off again. I stopped my walk, not bothering to turn around. I knew Steel was the one calling me, and I didn't know what to do. I silently flinched as the phone rung twice. A third time. It never made it to a fourth before I picked it up.

"Hey, Steel."


	4. Chapter 4: Fractured Steel

_**Maggie's POV**_

I walked out of my Dorm with my shoulderbag, ready to meet with Steel. I had agreed to have lunch with him so that we could talk. I was still having mixed feelings about him, but the only way I could justify my anger is to hear him out at least once. I sighed as I locked the door, heading out to the Bullheads. As the Pilot took off, taking me into the city, I started thinking about Kelley and Rackley. I smiled as I remembered Rackleys laid back attitude, never able to take anything seriously, even his fighting. I thought about Kelley's face, always cheerful, smiling even at the worst of moments. They were a couple of my best friends, even though I had only known them for about a year. I frowned a bit though when I thought about the most recent times I've seen them. Rackley's laid back attitude started turning into anxiety, giving him a twitch that he couldn't control until he left the school to get away from it all. I looked down as I thought of Kelley, barely eating, never leaving the dorm unless for classes. Oum, it got so bad that they actually had to send her back home, she had to abandon her life goals, everything because she couldn't handle it anymore. I sighed sadly before I heard the pilot over the speakers, saying we were making our departure. Had the time really passed that quickly? My answer came as the back of the plane opened up to the port. I slowly stood up and walked out there, finding Steel already waiting for me. It would've been hard to miss him, wearing a black cloak in the middle of Spring, adding on to his tank-top and jeans. He wore bandaging on his whole left arm. I glanced at it, but didn't ask why he was hiding what was underneath. He kept his face even, looking for expression didn't go very well with the large picnic basket in his hand, but he somehow managed to make it look manly as ever. His expression lightened a bit when he saw me, but was still hard as steel. I walked over to him, trying to keep my emotions on hold.

"Hey, Mags- Oh, I'm sor-" I cut him off.

"Steel, it's fine, really." He raised his eyebrows, but didn't question it.

"Alright." He wasn't saying anything, and I wasn't sure what to say, so we just stood there in silence, staring at each other until he faltered, looking down at the basket in his hand. "Oh, yeah. I cooked up this meal at the base this morning, I thought we could go find a good spot to eat it." I nodded, smirking.

"Still a master chef?" His face paled in embarrassment, but I just laughed. "I'm just joking with you, Steel." He nodded, his mouth perking a smile before it was shot back down.

"So, do you have any ideas for a good picnic?" I thought about my knowledge of Vale and honestly couldn't think of anywhere. I shrugged.

"There's a good spot overlooking a cliff at Beacon, but I'm sure you don't want to make the trip." He shook his head.

"No, it's fine. Let's go there." I eyed him for a second, before sighing, turning to walk back to the Bullhead I just left.

"Okay, lets go." We climbed back into the Bullhead. The pilot looked at us with an annoyed look, but took off anyway, taking us to the school. We sat side by side in the plane, silence heavy in between us. Neither of us could think of anything good that could be said that wouldn't provoke an argument. After a few more minutes, I couldn't take it any longer and took a shot in the dark. I looked down at his bandaged arm.

"When did you start hiding this?" I said, holding the arm up a bit, the cold metal biting through the bandaging. He looked down at it in silence before rubbing his other arm lightly.

"Ironwood thought it would be a good idea if I didn't show off my… Disability." I frowned at him.

"It's a disability now? I thought you always said that this loss wouldn't hold you back?" He stared at the arm in silence before speaking.

"I guess when I finally made it, I didn't have a reason to feel so much sense of duty anymore." He looked forward, a distant look in his eye. "And now that I've made it, I still have to think about whether its all it's cracked up to be." I stared at him, not sure what to say. Steel always spoke about his wish to join the military, rise high up in it's ranks until he could call himself equal to no others. He wanted to be a General among ranks of loyal soldiers. He talked about all these even at his time training to be a Hunter. I turned forward again.

"I handcrafted that arm for you, it's yours now though. You can hide it or show it, I honestly couldn't care less." I could feel him watching me, but I kept my eyes forward. There was a while of silence after that, neither of us bothering to look at each other. I could hear and feel him shifting in his seat every couple seconds, but didn't bother looking to see what he was doing. After another 20 minutes, the pilot called out over the intercom.

"We are making our departure to Beacon, please prepare to vacate the ship." I slowly stretched, loosening my limbs from the constant stillness. The doors on the back of the ship opened up, showing Beacon. Steel sat up before me, looking holding holding his left side. He was standing on my left, so I couldn't see most of his body, covered by the black cloak on his back. I mentally shrugged, and reached over to get my bag from the seat next to me, and when I looked back at Steel, he was facing me, a hand out to help me up. His left hand, now uncovered by the bandages. I stared at his arm, completely metal from the shoulder to the fingers. The metal was plated around the biceps, triceps, and forearms to emulate muscle, evening out to the other arm. A couple places in the joints had exposed wires, but only when he opens his arm all the way out. I recognized the craftsmanship, because of course, it was mine. I looked down at his seat to see the bandaging in a neat pile in his seat, as well as his cloak next to it, which he had just taken off. His hand was still poised out to me, ready to help me up, and I took it. I stood at my seat for a moment, the two of us standing closer now as we just stared at each other. I saw something in his eyes, a desperation, most likely to earn my trust again. That's what this is, he's trying whatever he can to earn my respect. I slowly let go of his hand, stepping back. I hadn't noticed how brittle and worn the metal was until I let go. I clicked my tongue and shook my head, heading out the door.

"Your arm is a wreck. After we eat, you're going to come back to my dorm for maintenance." He smiled, exiting after me. He had left the bandages and cloak in the plane, now seeming a little less unburdened.

"Well, half a year as a commanding officer does that to a man." I smiled with tight lips as I walked over to the Campus. Steel walked close next to me. "How have you been enjoying Beacon?" I smiled, thinking about the crazy time it's been since I've arrived here.

"It's great. The people here are very nice, and the school has a very good educational program. Even I've learned a couple new things here!" He glanced sideways at me.

"Really?" I laughed.

"No, of course not really, but it is nice to review." We started making our way down to the cliff, going off Campus. We trekked down the hill until we came to a stop at the top of the incline. He turned to me, pulled a large checkered blanket out of his basket.

"Let's set up." He tossed me the blanket and as I caught it, I noticed the softness of it. The smell of a department store. When I turned it over, I saw the tag still attached. I looked back up at him.

"Did you buy this blanket just for this occasion?" He stared for a moment before nodding.

"Uh, yeah. We don't have a lot of stuff like this back on base, so I just had to buy something quick." He shrugged like it was nothing, so I took it like it was just that. Nothing. I spread the blanket out on the ground and sat down as Steel started unloading the basket. Watermelon, Cantaloupe, and Alfredo Pasta with chicken bits. I glanced up at him, after seeing the pasta.

"You made my favorite meal?" He smiled nervously before popping of the lid to the tupperware, pulling out a couple paper plates as well. He handed me one and we both started making plates for ourselves quietly. Finally, when had both loaded up our plates and started eating, I spoke.

"So is it worth it?" He turned to me.

"What?" I jerked my head at the Military Grade aircraft in the distance, above the city.

"The military. Having everything you wanted, is it worth it?" He shifted a bit, but answered.

"For the most part, yeah, I guess it is." I raised my eyebrows at my pasta.

"You guess?" I could feel him staring at me, but refused to look up.

"There have been times where I…. regret my decision." It seemed to take a lot out of him to say regret. "But other than those times, I've enjoyed the challenge they set up for me." There was silence for a moment, the two of us just eating our food until I found myself staring at his metal arm. Without taking my eyes off of it, I spoke.

"Do you regret it more often than you enjoy it?" He slowly looked at me, studying my expression before answering.

"Yes." I flicked my eyes up to look at him. I stared at the broken face of my ex-partner, watching for any signs of lying, but before I could tell, he spoke. "I have thought about visiting the three of you on countless occasions, but I could never find the courage to face any of you. Then, I just run into you in the middle one of the Breaches-" I stopped him quickly.

"Woah, woah, woah." He stopped suddenly, listening to me now. "One of the breaches? There have been more than in Vale?" He stared at me before nodding slowly.

"Yes, there has been one in Vacuou and two in Atlas." I studied his face before sitting back.

"I didn't know the White Fang was so exspansive." He shook his head.

"We don't think it's the White Fang. Not completely, that is." I shifted in my seat.

"What do you mean?" He stared at me before shaking his head.

"We aren't completely sure, but we think some of the older Grimm, the smarter Grimm, have been watching the out of kingdom trade lines, and with the White Fang messing with our defenses as it is, they have been able to break through in our weaker spots." He leaned back on his hands. "The larger, older Grimm break the defense, the mass of regular Grimm charge, and kill as many people as they can." I was speechless. I knew the Military censored the media, but not like complete isolation between the kingdoms.

"How many casualties has there been?" He shrugged.

"A couple hundred. Much of the population is in Vale right now, but none of the unlucky men and women in Atlas and Vacuo had Huntsmen and Huntresses on the spot." I kept my lips tight, unsure what to say. "I've been at the second one in Atlas and this one here." He shivered a bit. "Atlas had it much worse. It was a bloodbath." I felt shakes up my spine, but didn't narrate them to show my fear. I looked back down at my food, now having lost my appetite.

"What you were saying about wanting to visit me, or the others. Why didn't you? You never even called." I wasn't looking at him, so I couldn't tell his expression, but I could hear the pain his his voice.

"I was afraid of what you would say when we spoke, and I'm damn well afraid what you'll say right now." I looked up at him seeing, once again, that desperation in his eye. I watched him for a moment before I couldn't stand it any longer and stood up, walking to the edge of the cliff, looking out at the valley below. I spoke back at Steel.

"You only have to do one thing to regain my trust. To fully apologize to me." He walked over and stood next to me.

"What do I have to do?" I turned to face him. His steel arm glistened from the sunlight.

"You have to come with me back to Mistral, to visit Rackley and Kelley, so you can apologize to them as well."

* * *

**Hey, guys, GuffeyManipulation here! I wanted to say that since I have started this story, I have a couple ideas of where to go with it, but I can't really decide what to do yet. I have also been thinking about what I plan to do after I've finished up a good portion of this story, and if Volume 3 doesn't come out on time. I have three characters that have just kinda became our three main characters over the course of the Canon. Zachary, Amber, and Maggie. I called this Arc Trinity because of that, and was thinking that we know some of their backgrounds, but not all of it. Once I have, say, 25-30 chapters of this, then I will probably begin the three stories(Which I have already thought about and planned out) and release them separately. Each of my stories with these characters will have the classic, Courage, Bravery, Integrity before the name to distinguish them from each other. Maggie's story will be named Intellect and will talk about her time with her family, to her time in Vale, all the way to her time in Mistral. Amber's story will be called Isolation and will talk about when he was adopted by his master, what happened during that time that really made an impact on him, and will lead all the way to the point of Zachary finding him. Zach's story will be called Flash Fire (Unless I can think of something better. I'm not feeling to stable on this title.) and will start around the time the Milos family finds out about his Semblance, and will continue to after he leaves, starts doing mercenary work, fights in the arena with Pyrrha, every detail I can fit in. I can see that Intellect and Flash Fire will probably be pretty long Prequels, but Isolation might only be about 10-15 chapters, if I can even get that much out of his back story. Anyway, that's all I have to say. If you have any comments or ideas, message me, I'm usually scrolling through this sight as much as I can. GuffeyManipulation, Out!**


	5. Chapter 5: Distraction

_**Zachary's POV**_

Yang and I had left the bakery a couple minutes after Cain had left, and were now on the Bullhead back to Beacon. We barely spoke, trying to dodge around talking about the offer. My mind was a warzone, trying to figure out what is right and wrong. If I went with Cain, I could save the lives of all of my friends, and give Yang the answers she needs about her mother. On the other hand, Cain would bring me back as an Assassin. I would have to kill others on command, and I don't think I could do that. I turned to the left to see Yang looking straight ahead. I could practically see the gears breaking down in her head as she thinks about all of this as well. Suddenly, before I could think, I was speaking.

"Cain said something about Ruby having a secret, something holding her back. Do you know anything about that?" The best thing I could do right now is take our minds off the decision. She turned to me, shaking her head quickly. She was obviously happy for the distraction.

"No, Ruby's always told me what's bothering her." I looked back down, wiping my face with my hand.

"Have any ideas of what it could be?" She shook her head, leaning back in her seat.

"Not a clue, but if I know Ruby, she'll go to someone eventually. There's no way she could handle a secret on her own." I flicked my eyes to the left to look at her.

"Then I need to find out who that is. If Ruby is being held back by something, it's my job as her leader to help her lose the baggage." Yang stared at me for a moment before standing up and pacing in front of me.

"What I'm worried about is who she's trusting. I doubt it's my dad, Ruby wouldn't want him to think she had any problems."

"Maybe one of your Teammates?" She nodded.

"If I were to bet, I'd say Weiss. They might bicker every now and then, but they're pretty close." The pilot's voice came over the speakers.

"We are beginning our departure, please prepare to vacate the ship." A couple seconds later, the ship's back door opened. We walked out and headed back to the dorms. I spoke to her quietly.

"So what should we do? Ask Weiss?" She shook her head.

"Waaaaaay to risky. What if it isn't her?"

"What about I just have a talk with Ruby? Maybe we can figure it out?" Yang shook her head for a second, but stopped.

"That could work. She trusts you." She put a hand on my chest, stopping me. I looked at her to see desperate eyes. "As much as I don't want to say it, she obviously didn't want me to know about this, so I'm leaving it to you. Can you assure me that she will be okay?" A flash of warning went across my mind, but I kept a straight face.

"Yes, I'll make sure she's alright." SHe nodded.

"Good." There was a moment as we started walking again before she added "Thank you."

* * *

Yang and I walked through the doors of RWBY's dorm to find Yang's teammates waiting for us, but Amber was gone. They looked up to see us as we walked in. Weiss spoke with an annoyed voice.

"Where have you two been? It's been hours since you left!" Yang and I looked at each other in surprise. I had forgotten to tell the others why we were leaving. Before I could, Blake spoke up.

"What happened?" I gave her a look.

"Hm?" She stood from where she was sitting on the bed and walked over to us, a predator stalking her prey.

"Your faces are white as if you've seen a ghost, and your eyes are filled with fear." She turned back to the others.

"Also, this is the longest I've ever seen Yang without her talking." I watched the others slowly switch from annoyed faces to ones of worry, but before I could say anything thing to ease their minds, I was yet again interrupted, this time by Yang.

"It was a call. From dad." Ruby's face was excited for a moment.

"Didn't he want to talk to me?" I looked at Yang, letting her orchestrate her lies.

"Uh, no, Sorry Sis. Someone told dad about Zach and I, and he wanted to speak with him about it." The two of them looked at Ruby, whose face had turned as pale as Weiss's dress.

"W-what did he say?" She shivered.

"A lot of things I don't want to talk about." She shook her head mockingly before speaking. "Look, can we just talk about something else?" I spoke quickly afterwards.

"How about the Tournament? It's only a few more weeks away." The girls shifted uncomfortably where they were, but when it was obvious that enough was said about our disappearance, they started speaking up. Yang moved to sit in one of the desk chairs, and I opted to lean against the frame of one of the beds hanging from the ceiling. Weiss spoke first.

"We don't know if the tournament will be single duels or doubles, so how should we train?"

"We already know each others strategy in combat, so maybe we should train in pairs, just in case of doubles." Ruby nodded.

"That's a great idea. Weiss and I, and Blake and Yang." She gave me a sorry look. "Oh, then who's going to be with Zach?" I shrugged.

"I'll team up with Amber or something, it's no problem. I'll let Team JNPR know so that they can train the same way. I want you all to have the advantage." Weiss turned her head indignantly.

"You should give away our secrets to the enemy!" I laughed.

"They aren't the enemy Weiss. As long as one of the eight of us win, we all win." I pointed out the window at all the students walking around from the higher classes. "They've all been training for this for years longer than you eight, and are going to be much smarter and stronger than you." I could see them looking at each other in worry before I raised a finger. "But! If you train efficiently and work together as a team, even if you have to fight each other, your chances at winning will skyrocket! You eight need to share secrets, share abilities, everything you can to make each other stronger! With that will come the trophy at the end of the Tournament." They were rejuvenated as I gave my little speech and jumped up with excitement, ready to start training right then and there. I smiled at them them, but noticed Yang was still sitting, smiling at the others as if she could see the excitement through a glass wall separating the three of them from her. I walked over to and nudged her, she looked up at me with a calm, happy expression, but I could see the stress still owning her eyes. I leaned down and spoke quietly.

"We've got a week, we can talk about all this later." She nodded with a smile before standing up and joining the others.

* * *

_**Maggie's POV**_

I walked back to my dorm alone, tired even though it's still midday. Steel had left earlier, claiming drowsiness as his excuse, also leaving me unanswered to my request for him to face his teammates. Under my breath, I cursed his name for being so indecisive for such a simple choice, but quickly stopped when I say someone approaching me. I knew him from somewhere, but I could exactly put my finger on a name. He had red hair and wore a red kimono-type robe. He quietly walked over to me.

"Hello." I stared at him for a moment, trying to remember.

"Hi."

"You're Maggie, right? I think we both fought at the Breach." I remember him now! The boy that Zach found in the woods! I smiled, now recognizing the face I had seen on camera.

"Oh, you must be Amber then! It's nice to meet you!" I put out a hand for him to shake. He looked down at it for a moment before stiffly taking it.

"You were the bug with Zachary, weren't you?" I nodded with a laugh.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that. I was the person on the other side of the speaker." When I saw his blank face, I stopped. "Anyway, is there something you wanted?" He nodded.

"Yes, Zach left with Yang a little while ago and the rest of Team RWBY and I can't seem to find them. I was wondering if you knew where they were?" I shook my head.

"No, I haven't seen them, but I'll help you look. I need to speak with Zach anyways." He raised his eyebrows at that.

"Oh? What for?" I gave a smirk.

"That is for me to know and Zach to find out." He grunted gruffly, not unlike Steel and walked towards the Bullheads. I followed quickly and walked beside him.

"So you've lived out in the Emerald Forest your whole life?" He stiffened at my questioned, but answered.

"Yes, until you two brought me into the city to find the White Fang." I looked ahead with my next question.

"It seems like their leader is behind bars now. So are you going to stay?" He seemed to realize the situation. He thought for a good minute before he shook his head.

"Torchwick may no longer be a problem, but The White Fang still persists. I will stay until the people are safe." I glanced sideways at him.

"And after the people are safe?" He thought for a moment before looking back at me.

"Is there a reason you're probing me for information?" I shook my head.

"Not a good one. I am curious, that is all." He grunted in response.

"Curiosity is a dangerous thing." I laughed.

"Is it really? Curiosity is what brought people to use dust, which saved our race all those years ago."

"But was that really a good thing? For countless years, people and Faunus alike have been at war with themselves, just for the sake of power. What's to stop us from destroying what our ancestors created so long ago?" I pondered his thought, but we were already at the Bullheads. Only a couple were still in at the school. A lot of the school must be out in the City, probably either helping rebuild the city where it was destroyed or celebrating their victory. We walked over to the closest one. The Pilot was waiting outside the cockpit for any students. I raised hand to him.

"Hello!" He nodded back.

"Hey, you kids want a ride somewhere?" Amber shook his head.

"No, we were wondering if a couple came through here, heading into the city." He shrugged.

"There are hundreds of couples that we've transported today." He sighed, but I raise my voice.

"How about any returning students." He looked at me.

"I just brought a couple back about 20 minutes ago. One with brown hair, the other with long blonde hair." We looked at each other in assurance. Amber just left for the Dorms without a word, but I lingered just long enough to raise a hand for him.

"Thanks!" With that, I ran off to catch up with Amber.

* * *

_**Zachary's POV**_

"Jaune, Pyrrha. that was perfect. Keep practicing though!" I was overlooking both of my Teams in one of the private training rooms. They had separated into pairs, together with their partners. I was giving coaching advice from time to time, and pitted doubles against each other every now and then to see how they adjust to different opponents. I was helping Ruby and Weiss work together with an agility based flurry of attacks when Amber and Maggie walked in. "Ruby, you're putting too much of your weight into each swing, so if you were blocked, then it would send you way off course. Weiss, your attacks have pinpoint accuracy in comparison to Ruby, but you both still need more communication on the counter against enemy attacks. Keep working on that." With that, I walked over to the two of them by the door.

"Hey, guys. What's up?" Amber spoke loudly over the sounds of the fighting.

"When did you guys start training?" I checked my watch.

"Bout 20 minutes ago, why?"

"We've been trying to find you." Maggie said. I turned to see the others before opening the door and walking outside with them. When we were away from all the fighting, I turned to them.

"What do you guys need?" Amber shrugged.

"I was just sent out to find you and Yang after you left." I bit my lip.

"Yeah, don't worry about that, we're fine. When we got back, we basically ran right into training for the Tournament." He nodded slowly.

"Alright, what Tournament?" Maggie pitched in.

"For the Vytal Festival. They have a Tournament every year. Students at all the Combat schools have travelled here for it." He raised his eyebrows.

"Do I have to take place in the fighting?" I shook my head.

"No, I guess you don't have to, but I was going to ask you to be my partner if it's doubles fights." He looked at me for a moment before nodding.

"Sure, why not?" I smiled.

"Good." I looked at Maggie. "I'm guessing you were looking for Yang and I as well?" She shook her head.

"No, I need to tell you about something I heard from the military about our-" I cut her off.

"Yeah, here come with me." I brought them to the next empty training room and stepped inside, checking outside the door before closing it. I then turned to Maggie. "What is it?" She glanced at Amber. "He was brought in to root out the White Fang, he has all rights to know." She nodded before taking a deep breath.

"I heard from Steel that the Breach in the city. It isn't the first." I felt my mouth drop straight to the floor.

"_What?_" She nodded.

"Yeah, apparently there's been one in Vacuo and two in Atlas as well." I looked away from them, trying to compose my surprise.

"How have we not heard about this?" Maggie responded slowly.

"The military's been covering it all up. Why they're hiding it is my question." Amber shook his head, unmoving, but still fearful.

"I didn't know the White Fang was all over the world." I shook my head, still turned away from them.

"Neither did I." There was silence for a moment, Maggie letting us take that in for a moment. After the silence had settled, Maggie finally spoke.

"What do we do?" I wiped my face with my hand before turning around and walking over to them.

"If there's one person that has any idea what's going on in Atlas, it's Weiss. I'll talk to her about it. Amber, I want you to talk to Sun. You met him at the Breach, sort of." When he gave a blank face, I added more info. "Blonde hair, monkey tail." He quickly nodded in recognition. "Good, he's from Vacuo, maybe he can get some updates on what's happening over there." I looked at both of them. "This is to stay between us. Nobody else needs to know, all it would do is cause a panic, alright? Be discreet." They both quickly agreed.


	6. Chapter 6: Taken In

_**Zachary's POV**_

I trained with my Teams for the rest of the day. Amber joined us, but Maggie left not long after she told be about the Breach. No. _Breaches_. The plural of the word is still hard to believe and horrific all the same. Right now, All of Team JNPR had left, as well as Blake, Amber, and Yang. It was just Ruby, Weiss, and I in the Training Room. The two of them have been practicing the same move for the past 3 hours, and have yet to succeeded using it. Unlike,how they usually, they were completely out of sync. Weiss would Flank when Ruby Defends, or Ruby would shoot a shot from her sniper a little wide, and Weiss would have to jump out of the way. It was honestly pretty late, around 11:00 now, their Aura was nearly depleted, and they were soaking wet with sweat, but they refused to give up. I had to give to them, no matter how much they fought or failed, they continued working to get this at all costs.

"Again." I was merely standing on the side as they practice over and over again. They gave me a tired stare before walking back to the other side of the room, getting into position. Ruby stood in front with her Scythe stood straight, while Weiss stood behind her. They waited in position until I got ready on the other side of the room and said, "Begin."

Without waiting, Weiss put a jump glyph under her feet and leaped up until she stood atop Crescent Rose. With a fluid motion, Ruby swooped her Weapon around, Weiss riding the blade until she was flung in the air. I looked up to see her flying with flawless accuracy, and when I looked back down, I was just fast enough to bend backwards under Ruby's slicing attack. I battled her for a moment, fending off her attacks until I sent her back and we stared at each other for a moment. Before either of us could attack, Weiss fell back down…. Landing on top of Ruby. With a squeak, the both hit the floor, sprawled on top of each other. I got out of my combat position and sighed.

"Weiss, you aimed your Glyph at Ruby instead of me." She quickly stood up and pointed at me.

"I know that!" Ruby quietly stood up as well.

"Why can't we get this Maneuver?" I put a hand on her shoulder. Throughout these hours, she hadn't blamed her Partner once. It was either they both got it, or they both failed.

"All you need is more practice. Let's try this again tomorrow." She gave me a tired look before pouting silently back to her dorm, Crescent Rose dragging behind her. I stood with a seething Weiss. "What is it?" She gave me an angry look.

"What do you think it is?" I stared at her for a moment before sitting down on the floor casually.

"I honestly don't know. Is it the technique? Or maybe something about Ruby?" She gave me an annoyed look.

"It's the Technique, obviously! Ruby's a dunce, but she's not a bad fighter." I gave her a long stare, but she just sent one right back at me. After a few moments, I subsided, looking away. She was cold and expressionless, but her drowsiness gave away her true feelings. She knew nothing about Ruby.

"Alright, one more thing and I'll let you go to bed." She leaned on her left foot, staring down at me.

"What is it this time?"

"Have you heard anything from Atlas since you came to Beacon? Anything dire?" She shifted again, but kept her annoyed face.

"No, what does it matter?" I rubbed my shoulder nervously.

"You should probably contact your father, or other people you know in Atlas." Her stare started slipping as she was getting more concerned.

"Zach, what are you saying?" There was a moment of silence. "Zach!" I stared at her nervously before answering.

"The Breach in Vale wasn't the first." She took a step back in surprise, but I didn't give her time to console herself. "Apparently, there's been one in Vacuo, and two in Atlas. She was speechless. I gave her time to take it in, and after a few moments, she started for the door. I watched her nervously for a moment before following suit. "Weiss, where are you going?" She kept her brisk pace, before tiresome, but now full of energy.

"The CCT if they're still online, I'm contacting my sister." I followed at a slow jog.

"Weiss, it's almost midnight. I don't think they're open at this time of night."

"The Communication Towers are open at all hours of the day for any to enter, other than select occasions. They will let me in." I tried to stop her, but she kept going.

"Weiss, you can't contact them." She turned on me quickly.

"Why the hell not?!" I was surprised. She abandoned her usual formal attitude for this. "I need to make sure my Family is alright! The White Fang is behind this, so The Schnee Dust Company will be their Prime Target!" Without a second to waste, she started jogging. I took a second before running after her.

* * *

Weiss and I were riding the elevator to the communications room. Nobody has stopped us thus far, and anyone that has tried, got Weiss throwing her name in their face before walking briskly past them. I followed her all the way, ready to protect her if the military makes a stand to stop her. When the doors opened, we found an empty room, only the holographic receptionist left. She walked straight to the AI.

"Welcome to the-"  
"I need contact with the Schnee Dust Company. My name is Weiss Schnee." The Hologram nodded.

"We can do that. You're on Terminal 14." She ran to the Terminal just as it turned on, showing a lady on the other side. I stood behind her, my hands on the head of her chair.

"Ms. Schnee! A pleasure to see you again!" She waved a hand in front of the screen.

"Yeah, yeah. I need to speak with Winter!" The woman nodded quickly and ran off screen. We heard muffling in the background before she came back into view.

"Winter will be here momentarily." She nodded.

"Good, thank you." The woman went off screen again, and nothing could be heard on the other side. I slowly took the chair from the terminal next to her and sat next to her.

"Weiss." She ignored me, staring at the screen. "Weiss." She didn't look or acknowledge me. I stayed quiet after that, until another girl came into view on the computer screen. She looked a lot like Weiss, but had only shoulder length hair. She didn't have the scar either. She looked a couple years younger. The second she was in view, both sisters surged to the screen, as if to hug through the computer.

"Weiss!"

"Winter! Is everything alright?!" She shook her head quickly.

"There have been things happening! The Faunus have been making moves, Father says that plays are being mad-" All of a sudden, the screen went blank and a message appeared in the middle.

"Warning. Security is on the way. Do not leave your Terminal." Weiss read the screen quickly, but before she could do anything, I took her arm.

"We need to go. Now." She looked back up at me, fear in her eyes.

"Why did they cut us off?! Don't they know who we are?!"

"They don't care who you are! This is the Military! They've been screening the calls in the CCT, so no one is able to tell anyone else about the Breaches. Nobody from any of the other Kingdoms know anything outside of their cities. Now we need to get out of here!" She nodded quickly and ran to the elevator with me. When started down to the bottom floor. When Weiss saw me unsheathing my weapon, she brought out Myrenaster as well. Just as the elevator door opened, we ran out to see a line of Military Sentinels blocking the door, Ironwood guiding in the front.

* * *

_**Amber's POV**_

I awoke to the sound of someone rapping loudly on my door. I burst into sitting position, my wings instinctively covering around my torso, but when I got my bearings, they returned to tuck behind my bare back. The knocking at my door refused to cease, so without putting on a shirt, I quickly opened the door. On the other side was 3 men in blue uniforms, their faces covered by masks on their helmets, but their mouths shown. They had guns in sheaths at their waists, but they were obviously ready to unleash them. When they saw me, one of the men's hand creeped towards his weapon, but didn't take it.

"May I help you?" The man in front spoke.

"We need you to come with us, Mr. Pleasant." I stared at him before shuffling on my feet.

"Why should I?" The right man's hand crept ever more closely towards his pistol until his hand was lying on his gun. I glanced at his gun, but looked back at the front man as he spoke.

"Direct Orders from General Ironwood. You have no reason to fear us." There was a moment of silence. "Yet." The threat hung heavy in the air. I slowly, but surely, returned to my dorm to slip on one of the shirts in the closet before following the men to the main building. The entire way, I could feel the right man's pistol held against my back, but I didn't say anything.

* * *

_**Maggie's POV**_

I was still playing my game, even at this hour. When did my life get so stressful? I gave a heavy sigh as I shot another player through the skull.

"You alright, Electra?" One of the guys in my party was talking to me through my mic. I was known as Electic_Jaguar in the game, but my friends called me Electra. I rolled my shoulder as I reloaded.

"It's nothing. There's a team of three on the right side." I got a couple affirmatives from the guys in my party as the ran over to deal with the squad. From my perk, I killed the three members on the left team. I could hear the guy over the mic again.

"Seriously, though Electra. When you get anxious, you're a bad shot. What's up?" The other guys got silent.

"Look, Newbs." I shot another enemy in the chest. "First of all, you know I'm the best shot you'll ever meet. Second of all, when you're playing the game, stay in the game."

"Newbs getting shot down, once again!" The other guys laughed at the guys' jokes, and the rest of the chat was about Newbs getting put down. I smiled as I continued playing. Right as I was going to take another shot, there was a banging at my door. I frowned for a moment before dispensing the enemy.

"Hey guys, I'm going AFK. I'll be back in a minute." The banging persisted. I glanced nervously at the door before getting homemade taser I had been working on from my work table. I held it behind my back as I opened the door to see Steel, flanked by two other soldiers. Both of them were armed, and Steel had his sword strapped to his back.

"Uhh, hey Steel." He straightened up, not bothering to introduce his friends.

"We would like to take you in to see the General." I thumbed the button on my taser.

"What for?" One of the men spoke up.

"No questions asked, direct orders from the General. If you come peacefully, we will not use force." Steel turned on the soldier.

"We will not be using force, soldier! This is an invitation, not a kidnapping!" The man stepped forward on Steel, even though he was an inch or so shorter.

"You're in no place to be making preferences! If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't have to be here!" Steel's face was full of fury.

"Stand down, soldier!" He was about to speak again, but Steel spoke over him." Stand Down!" The man stared at him, but slowly back up and returned to his place silently. Steel turned back to me.

"I'm sorry about that. We need you to come in." I stared at him. I knew Steel wouldn't lay a finger on me, but his soldiers don't seem so cooperative. I nodded slowly.

"Alright, let me get some things together." He shook his head.

"No gadgets, just you." I stared at him.

"Direct Orders?" He nodded. I stared again, but slowly put the taser down on my dresser. I left my room, closing the door behind me. I walked beside Steel, both his guards in front and behind us. I glanced at him as I walked, a prisoner now.

"Ironwood knows I'm not defenseless without my equipment, right?" Steel looked straight ahead.

"Maybe." I smiled, looking ahead as well.

* * *

**Hey, guys. Sorry I was late on this chapter. Things have been a little hectic in my life lately, but things are starting to even out. Sort of. Anyway, thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed! You have any questions or concerns, theres the review section. You have any ideas or points about the story you would like to know about, PM me. GuffeyManipulation, Out!**


	7. Chapter 7: Threats

_**Zachary's POV**_

I walked silently with Weiss as we walked to the Port. We were lead by General Ironwood, and flanked by a couple Sentinels. They had confiscated both of our weapons, and honestly, it was putting me on edge. A huge airship had landed in the Port, obviously a part of the Altesian Military. There was a couple dozen Soldiers around the Ship. They all stood at attention as the General passed, ignoring Weiss and I. He didn't stop as he walked up into the ship. Weiss and I glanced at each other for a second before following. We walked the corridors of the Military Craft until Ironwood led us into a side door, leading into a conference room. I walked in behind Weiss to find both Maggie and Amber sitting at the table. Steel stood to the side, but other than him, there was no other soldiers in the room. Amber stared at the General as he took the seat at the head of the table, but Maggie was cleaning her fingernails nonchalantly. Ironwood nodded at Weiss and I.

"Please, take a seat." I glanced at Weiss, only to give a slight nod before we both sat down. Weiss beside Maggie, I sat on Amber's side. He gave us no time before speaking. "You may or may not know that I have been assigned with the responsibility of the protection of the citizens during the Vytal Festival." I tried not to make a face from the disgust of having to see this man for the rest of the festival. "Events have transpired over the past few months that have brought the council to believe that even having the Festival is not the smartest of ideas, but I am faithful in my Military's potential to protect the citizens of Remnant." Maggie spoke quietly.

"Or you want everyone in one place so you can censor the Breaches." I expected him to make a remark at Maggie, but instead, he glared at Steel.

"We feel that refraining that information from the citizens would best keep the peace. Fear creates chaos." I spoke boldly.

"The Truth is what brings Peace."

"Not in this situation-"

"In this exact situation!" I practically yelled. "The people need to know what's happening in their homes, not about some stupid festival!" He gave me a glare.

"The Vytal Festival has given us the opportunity to protect the greater population of Remnant." Amber spoke up.

"And has the lesser population far more vulnerable." Ironwood waved his hand dismissively.

"There are plenty enough troops in all the Kingdoms to defend the civilians with ease." Weiss, who had been silent this entire time, spoke quietly.

"You're wrong." We all stared at her until she explained. "The Schnee Dust Company is the most secure organization in all of Remnant, and my Father even worries about the White Fang rising." The General attempted to cut her off.

"I can assur-" She shook her head defiantly.

"No, you don't understand! If the Schnee family line is in danger, then I can only imagine what's happening to the lower classes! It's your job to protect them and you are not being very successful!" The three of us turned to Ironwood, who had a surprised look on his face. Maggie stood up in the silence.

"I think I'm going back to my Dorm." She didn't take a single step before Ironwood gruffly spoke.

"That will not be an option. You four will be staying on board this Military Vessel until further notice." Amber gave a slight growl and stood as well.

"You can't keep us here." He smiled.

"As a matter of fact, I can and will." He took a single step towards us, but was instantly stopped when the smell of electricity was in the air. Maggie had a maniacal grin on her face, her hand held out in front of her as she took a single step towards Ironwood. In her hand were volts of electricity, flaring off her fingers and meeting in her palm before dispersing and combining over and over again. The three of us were more than surprised as we stared at what must have been Maggie's Semblance, slowing in her hand. Ironwood lowered his smile, a frown taking it's place. Maggie spoke confidently.

"You will NOT be keeping us here." Ironwood did not back down, even though he was obviously as surprised as we were at this new power of hers. He calmly spoke.

"Steel, please subdue Ms. Everdale." I looked at the soldier to see a flicker of doubt cross his face before taking a single step towards Maggie. He made it no further before Amber was there, his Wings tearing through the back of his shirt to make a barrier between the two of them.

"You need to take a step back." I watched my friends in awe as they, unarmed, challenged The General and his Lapdog. Steel stared at Amber with a curious eye before speaking to Ironwood.

"Orders, General?" There was a moment of hesitation, but I didn't give him the chance before I stood up and walked in between my friends, leaving Weiss in her seat. Amber was stood with his wings unfurled, Maggie with her hand sparking with electricity, and I just stared the General down.

"You have an army, but do you think that scares us? No. Now this is what needs to happen. You are going to send my three friends, and your dog off the ship, so we can have a little talk. Alright, General?" I spoke his title with mocking in my voice, but he did not waver. He was still as a rock, studying us. He finally spoke.

"Steel, please escort these Hunters-in-Training back to their Dorms. Re-establish Ms. Schnee and Mr. Milos with their weapons as well." I didn't look, but I could hear Steel's sigh of relief.

"Will do, sir." Amber slowly folded his wings across his back again, still showing, thanks to his shredded shirt. Maggie kept her fist held high though, staring at Ironwood with anger. I went to touch her shoulder, to signal her to let go, but when I came within a couple inches of her skin, volts of electricity flared into my hand. I pulled back my arm quickly, the fingers prickled from the shock.

"Maggie, calm down." She didn't listen. There was a deadly silence until I heard Steel sigh. I glanced at him, to see him walking over to her, his right hand holding his bandaged left arm. I watched his arm as he walked. _Is his arm glowing?_ Yes, his bandaged arm had a light, very faded glow. When he took his hand off of the bandages, the glowing ceased, and I couldn't tell what had happened. He tried what I had before, putting a hand on Maggie's shoulder, but when the electricity popped to his hand, he didn't react. He just held her shoulder until she closed her eyes. She closed her out held hand, the blue sparks fading as if they had never been there in the first place. She quickly stormed out of the conference room. Amber, Steel, and Weiss looked at each other before following quickly. When the door slid closed behind them, I turned back to the General.

"So what is so secret that you cannot share it with your closest friends?" I glared at his mockery.

"Secrets that will be revealed to them soon enough." I walked back to the conference table, placing a hand on top of it. "In a matter of days, I will most likely be of no more problem to you, and neither will either of my Teams." His head tilted ever so slightly.

"Oh? Are you allowing my Military their control?"

"Yes, but only if you give me something in return for our yield."

"What is it you want?" I turned my head back from the table to his face.

"I want them to be left alone. You are to not mess with my friends ever again, and they won't keep digging through your plans." He stared at me with a smirk, obviously used to politics and conversing deals. I expected him to haggle, struggle against my demands, but I was actually surprised at his answer.

"Yes, we will honor your wishes. You will never hear from me again." I watched him for a second, surprised it was that easy before heading for the door, speaking on my way out.

"Good."

/

I walked into RWBY's Dorm room to find all of their team, as well as Amber and Maggie waiting for me. Amber, who had changed into another shirt stood up as I walked in, but before he could speak I waved him back down.

"Sit down. I need to talk to you guys." He slowly sat back down in the desk chair he was in. I walked over to Weiss's desk and took her chair as well, sitting down to complete the little circle that had already been made. I slowly sat down and looked at Team RWBY.

"Did they tell you three what happened?" They all nodded, and Ruby spoke.

"What are we going to do about The Breaches?" I watched her with a tired stare.

"Nothing." They were all taken back by that. Maggie spoke loudly.

"What do you mean nothing?!" I glared back at her.

"I mean nothing! There will be no more investigations. No more fights with Criminals. No more Plans and Disguises!" They all stared at me in silence, and after a moment, I continued. "You guys will be regular students from now on. Enjoy the Vytal Festival, the parades, the Tournament. The Ignorant Bliss as much as you can before The Military starts losing control of the citizens." They gave a few complaints, but I stopped them quickly. "No, it's over. You guys will do fine, I know it." They shifted in silence at that. All but Yang, who was deathly pale. Blake spoke quietly.

"Why are you speaking like you're dying?" I looked at her before I stood up.

"I'm leaving the school. Forever." There was a heavy silence in response. "I need you 4 to stay strong, keep training. Be the best that you can be." I started for the door. "Oh, and make something up for Team JNPR will you? Thanks. I love you guys." With that, I was out the door.

/

I ran around my dorm, packing everything I knew I needed in my duffel bag, but it wasn't much. It was never much. I put my bag on the kitchen table, zipped up and ready to go. As I pulled my Jacket off the chair at the table, I heard the door to my Apartment open.

"Wait for me to get my things, will you?" I looked up to see Yang walk past me, heading to the bedroom. I froze for a moment before following her. I stood in the doorway as she started packing a bag.

"You aren't coming with me." She looked up at me with an angry look.

"You can't stop me." I shook my head, now frustrated.

"Yes I can, and you aren't coming. Believe me, Yang. The information isn't worth what they're gonna make you do." She whipped around from my desk, where she was gathering a couple photos. She started storming over to me.

"Do you really think this is about my Mom! I couldn't give half a shit if they knew anything!" I took a step towards her.

"Then why waste your life like this?! For me?! I can't let you do that!" She slammed another step forward, the two of us now barely an inch from each other's faces.

"Why the Hell not?!" Without a second thought, I grabbed her waist and pulled her in for a long kiss. She didn't even struggle as I brought her against me. For a good thirty seconds, there was silence. We pulled apart, just enough for our foreheads to be pressing against each other. Our eyes were both closed, just feeling the presence of the other. I spoke quietly.

"Yang, I love you more than I have anyone else in my life. You have changed me in so many ways that I can't even explain mean to me. You've protected me from myself, but now it's my turn to protect you." She silently - and barely - shook her head against mine before I pulled away. She kept her eyes closed as I walked to the kitchen, got my bag and left the Dorm.

/

The Bullhead ride must have taken close to 30 minutes, but it felt like 3. The car ride to the Mansion was what felt like a thousand hours. Every store, building, or shop I passed looked like it was moving at the speed of molasses. The Traffic was very light, considering the time of night it was. When I made it outside the city, the trees I past all seemed to blend together, the greenery just walls to guide my path. When I pulled into the forest, taking the small dirt road. I could feel every bump from rocks in the ground. I could see every animal and Grimm alike I passed. I pulled into the clearing, the huge Mansion in front of me. I parked my car, stepping out with both my hands up. Even though I couldn't see them, I could feel the snipers somewhere in the building, a gun pointed at my chest. I made no sudden movements I walked to the middle of the lawn and waited. The grass around me was still singed and black from where I fought Lium only days ago. I stared up at the building until the front door opened, and Cain alone walked out, smiling as he strolled across his land to meet me. He opened his arms wide as he got closer, and I did nothing as he brought me in with a hug. When he released me, I just shouldered my bag and looked down. With a few words I could barely comprehend, he was leading me into the building. I took every step gingerly, as if it might be my last step outside. Everything seemed mute, just a blank space. It was seconds later that the space was filled. Filled with the sound of an Engine running, the engine of a motorcycle. I turned back to my car just to see Yang pull her Bike up right next to it.


	8. Chapter 8: Disappearance

_**Zachary's POV**_

Yang. She got off my yellow motorcycle with quick expertise. Yang. The large bag on her back bulging with her belongings. Yang. Sauntering over to Cain and I, though it had been long since I had forgotten about who I was with. Yang Yang Yang. Why was she here? What is she doing? She took her final step until she stood only a foot away from me. She gave me a knowing smile.

"Why didn't you wait up for me? Taking both your car and my bike doesn't mean leave me in the dust!" She gave a light laughter, very calm in the situation. Cain's chuckle ripped me out of my mindless abyss.

"Ah, Yang. Why, I had thought Zachary here had left you behind, but I can see that your love is too strong to be separated!" I looked at him for a moment, trying to control every mixed emotion that was boiling up from the inside.

"Yeah, sorry Yang. I didn't mean to leave you behind. Guess I got caught up in the traffic." A measly lie, but the best I could come up with at the time. Cain smiled and turned to the house.

"Well, I shall escort you two inside. We shall talk about your lives continuing today on the morrow. For tonight, I shall allow you two rest. Come along now." With that, he started walking to the Mansion. Yang and I followed without a word to be said. In silence, the three of us entered the seemingly deserted building, and climbed the stairs to the third floor. Cain brought us to one of the empty rooms near the end of the hall, and wordlessly corralled us in before shutting the door behind us. I could hear the door's lock click the moment the door closed and sighed as I examined the room. It was a large apartment-like room, mainly just the bedroom, with a large bathroom to the side and a walk in closet on the other. The bedroom was very lavish, having a large king sized bed in the middle of the back wall, facing out. Around the walls were drawers and cupboards, as well as a single Vanity on the left side. I walked straight to the bed and dumped my bag on it before turning to Yang, who had been placing her bag on the vanity.

"Do you have any idea how much it pains me to see you here?" She looked into my eyes with a tired look, empathetic, happy, and sad at the same time.

"Yes, but I wasn't going to let you ruin your life with nobody for support." Frustrated, I slammed my hand on the footboard of the bed. Yang didn't flinch at the loud noise.

"What about your father, your team? What about Ruby? Huh, Yang?! How do you think she's going to handle losing her sister?!" She flinched this time, at Ruby's name and at 'sister.' When I found that she couldn't find words, I looked down at the silk bed, not able to look at her anymore without seeing the harm in my words. "Yang, all I wanted was to protect you guys." I felt warm hands around my stomach, and Yang's body pressed against my back.

"We will be protecting them. They can't be harmed anymore, remember?" I shook my head, breaking from her grasp, walking to the other side of the room.

"You were supposed to be protected, too! Losing all of you or losing one of you, it's all the same pain in this heart!" I pointed at my chest. "This broken, chained heart is here to protect all of you! If I lose you, then I lose everything!" She stood where she was, staring at me.

"Zach." I stared at her, not angry at her, but angry at myself for not being able to keep her safe. "Your heart is my burden." There was a pause. "You can carry all of us in that mind of yours as long as you want. You can weigh your heart on a moral scale the size of Vale, but I will always be there to balance you out. You can protect me all you want, but you are going to have to deal with me having to protect you, too." I stared at her. She stared back. Silence enveloped the room, still and dense.

"Thank you." I had muttered ever so lightly. She raised her head a bit.

"What?" I started walking towards her.

"Thank you, for coming here, for being here for me." She smiled and walked over to me, and this time, when she put her arms around me, I didn't pull away.

* * *

_**Amber's POV**_

_I feel so goddamn useless. How could I just lie here while Zach and Yang are running off to Oum knows where? Fuck._ I swung my feet to the side of my bed, getting up. I needed to get some air. I quickly threw on a red tunic from my old home and a pair of jeans. I looked at the door, but instead of walking out, I headed for the window. With a single motion, I pulled the glass up and leaned out into open air. I was on the fifth floor, and the ground was a long fall away. My wings pulled through the slits on the back of the tunic, still folded back. I didn't wait any longer before jumping out the window, my wings flitting out to catch the wind. I pulled up for a second from the drift, but I had to start flapping after that. I flew up higher and higher, my body held straight, except for my wings that were flapping furiously to get me to the roof. When I broke the top of the building, I stopped flapping and merely put my foot out to just walk straight onto the landing. My wings folded back against my back, but I kept them outside my tunic.

"Nice weather, huh?" I had been looking at the ground and flicked to the voice. I turned to see Ruby sitting on the edge of the building, dangling her feet off the side. She must have been preparing for bed before she came up here, because she had her pajamas on.

"That's pretty dangerous, you know." She looked back at me with a smile.

"You'll catch me if I fall." I watched her for a moment before standing beside her, my toes only a centimeter from the edge. We stood in silence, obviously both having the idea to find someplace to think after that. It was unlike Ruby to be this quiet, but her sister and leader just disappeared. I think I can understand her stress. I slowly spoke.

"Do you have any ideas to where they are?" I glanced down at her to see her staring out at Vale, as if she could find them from where she was sitting.

"No." I stared out into the sky again. All my life I've been taught that stillness, but I couldn't stand just staying here anymore. I needed to move, go somewhere else. I shifted on my feet before asking.

"Do you want to fly with me?" Ruby looked up at me with a confused look. "I can carry you. I'm about to fly, would you like to come with me?" She stared at me for a moment, completely silent and unmoving. Very unlike Ruby. She, all of a sudden, smiled a huge grin.

"Yeah!" She quickly started to get up, putting her hands under her to stand, but when she started pulling her feet off the edge, one of them got stuck on something. She was knocked off balance by the restriction, and in the single motion, the rest of her body was being pulled down as well. I only saw a flash of fear in her eyes before she started falling. I didn't wait. I jumped off the edge, following her. Ruby was screaming, but was smart enough to put her hands and legs out, slowing her fall, but she was only 8 stories up when she started, and the ground was coming fast. I dived to her, my body pushed down by the wind before, just at the second floor, I put my arms around her waist and caught her. It was barely a millisecond before my wings pulled out and started our gliding, very clearly slowing us down. Ruby was trembling in my arms, so I slowed us down even more, before I just kept us hovering, flapping in the air at about 2 story height.

"Are you alright?" She was still in my arms now, and when I looked at her face over her shoulder, she was looking at the cliff.

"Yeah! Thanks for catching me." I smiled, and in answer, started taking her higher, flying toward the cliff. I brought us high enough to be equal height to the dorms and then started gliding and flying towards the large cliff. Ruby was secure in my arms below me. I held her around the waist, and with her fascination with the flight, she had her arms out to the sides, as if she had wings of her own. She laughed in glee.

"THIS IS AMAZING!" She yelled over the wind. I smiled as I brought us closer to the large clearing before completely pulling my wings behind my back, bringing us into a dive bomb towards the earth. Ruby, this fall, was smiling and laughing at the incredible speeds she must have been used to. As we started getting closer to the ground, I pulled my wings back out and brought us gliding until my feet started grazing the grass. I slowed us down before stopping, placing Ruby to stand on the ground. She was practically bouncing in glee, but unable to make words. I waited in silence before she finally started calming down, and stopped bouncing. She gave me a big smile.

"Thank you for letting me fly, that was fantastic!" I laughed.

"I really clears the mind, doesn't it?" She nodded.

"The only thing that I could think about was the sky and the wind in my ears." I smiled at her, happy to see yet another understand the thrill of flying.

"Isn't it past your curfews?" Both of us froze, caught red handed, and when we turned, we found Professor Ozpin walking towards us. "I mean, what are rules if they are to be broken ever do easily?" Ruby straightened up.

"Sorry, sir." I watched him as he approached us, but didn't say a word. When he came within about 5 feet, he stopped, us a concerned look.

"What has happened to the two of you?" We looked at each other, then back at Ozpin. I spoke before Ruby could have the chance.

"We are just worried, Professor. Zachary came to us speaking like his own death was near, and then he and Yang has just disappeared." Ozpin stared at me for a moment, his face completely blank.

"How long has it been since they have left?" I exchanged a look with Ruby before answering.

"About an hour and a half ago. What? Is Zach really never planning on returning to the school?!" Ozpin gave me a stare before turning back towards the school, walking with a brisk pace.

"Come along, both of you. I have much to discuss with little time." Ruby and I exchanged another look before running after him.

* * *

"Professor, where is Zach?!" Ruby and I have been quiet most of the trip to the school, and now we're in the elevator up to Ozpin's office with the Headmaster. He responded calmly.

"I am not completely sure, Ruby, but I have a hunch on a past event. Let us hope I am wrong." Ruby gave me a nervous look as the doors dinged open. Ozpin didn't waste a beat as he walked straight to his desk, sitting behind it. He started his computer and started a program on the main screen. Ruby and I were standing behind him, watching the computer screen as an overhead view of Beacon showed up on the screen, with green, blue, and red circles on the map. My eyebrows burrowed as I attempted to understand the technology, but couldn't really comprehend what was happening.

"What is this?" Ozpin pointed at the map, where there was a large group of small green circles.

"All the green circles are students, and all the blue circles are teachers and faculty."

"What are the red circles?" Ruby asked tentatively.

"Military Personnel." I shifted where I was standing at the sight of an overwhelming group of red dots that must be the military aircraft in the port. With a couple clicks, a white bar appeared at the top of the screen, and when Ozpin typed in letters, they appeared in the box. I watched him type "Zachary Milos." There was a moment before every dot disappeared on the map. Ozpin's eyebrows burrowed, showing his emotion for the first time since I had met him. Confusion.

"Zachary is no longer on school grounds." Ruby spoke quietly.

"Try Yang." He deleted "Zachary Milos" and replaced it with "Yang Xiao Long." No dots again. Ruby frowned. After a second of silence Ozpin started typing and clicking furiously on the keyboard. The screen brought up a couple option screens until it was quickly brought to big letters and a large bar. "Transmission Range." Ozpin pulled the marker on the bar the the right a bit, and the map zoomed out until it showed all of Vale and much of the surrounding area. He typed in "Zachary Milos" again. One green dot. Ruby and I sighed in relief, but when I looked at Ozpin, he had a very slightly scared look on his face. The dot was in the middle of a forest, a little away from Vale. Ozpin quickly deleted Zach's name, and a little too desperately, typed in Yang's. One Green dot in the exact same place. Ozpin spoke quietly, despite Ruby's smile of relaxation.

"Oh no." Ruby's face went horrified.

"What?! What is it?! Are they in danger?!" Ozpin stared at the screen for a moment before turning off the monitor.

"You two are to both return to your Dorms. I would not like either of you to look for your friends. I will personally see that they are both brought to safety." Ruby perked up.

"Safety! They are in danger! Where are they, you have to tell me!" Ozpin gave her a tired look.

"I believe they are not being harmed at the moment, and will most likely not be harmed in the future, but what they might be forced to do is what they must be saved from." Ruby was going to start yelling again, but I stood in front of her, nudging her back to the elevator.

"Thank you, Professor Ozpin. We will talk about this in the morning, I presume?" He gave me a long stare before nodding.

"Yes, that would be most sensible. Please come back here at noon." I nodded as I dragged Ruby to the elevator.

"Of course, we'll be here." I pushed the button to open the elevator and brought Ruby inside the second it opened. When the doors closed, Ruby gave me a string of words not very suited to her.

* * *

_**3rd person POV**_

_**Ozpin's Office**_

The moment the doors to the elevator closed, cutting Ruby and Amber from Ozpin, he called Professor Goodwitch through his computer. The phone rang three times before the Teacher picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Glynda, I need your assistance immediately." There was silence on the other end.

"Ozpin, it's 3 o'clock in the morning. What could you possibly need my help with at this late of night?" Glynda said. Ozpin spoke calmly.

"This is an emergency, I need to contact the brothers." Silence again.

"Do you mean-?"

"Yes."

"I'm on my way."

* * *

**Hey, everybody! Guess who is totally not dead! Sorry it's been so long since my last update. I've been having a hard time thinking of ways to progress the story effectively, and tie up some loose ends effectively, and am having, honestly a pretty hard time. I finally was able to bring out this chapter, though, for I was finally able to play though all the scenes in my head while I was thinking about it. Thinking about and creating an entire chapter in your head at one time is not easy, but I got it! Thank you all for waiting for this chapter and your continued support.**


	9. Chapter 9: Introductions are in Order

_**Amber's POV**_

"You must be less rash with the situation, Ruby." She gave me a cold glare as she closed the door to her dorm behind her. I had come over to their room nearly 15 minutes ago, and was really just waiting around as Ruby got ready. She was silent the entire time, but had a jerky, angry feeling in her movements. She was very disrespectful yesterday with the Headmaster, and seemed to have a plan of being the same way today. She walked ahead of me to the stairs. I followed quickly.

"I'm not joking around, Ruby. You need to calm down a bit. Ozpin is handling the situation." She didn't speak as she continued her walk to the main building. Against my thoughts, I stayed silent after that. She refused to listen to me, and I had the feeling that wouldn't change with time.

"So, do you know where Weiss and Blake are?" She was silent for a few moments. She waited until I just didn't think she was going to say anything before answering.

"Weiss is at the Postal Office in Vale, sending a letter to her sister, and I don't know where Blake is."

"What about Maggie?"

"I'm not sure." She shrugged. "Probably with Steel." Strange. Usually, Ruby is on top of where her Teammates are, and usually her other friends as well. Ruby stopped and I almost ran into her. We had made it to the Main Building without my noticing. It was only a few moments before we were on our way up in the elevator. I opened my mouth to speak a couple times, but always thought the better of it. The door to Ozpin's Office dinged open, and we found ourselves facing Ozpin sitting behind his desk, with Goodwitch at his side. We walked over to them and stood in front of his desk. Ozpin spoke first.

"Thank you for coming."

"Of course, Professor." I said, restraining myself from bowing at him.

"So what's your plan to save my sister?" Ruby said very blatantly. I gave her a slight nudge and a little glare, but she ignored me. Goodwitch matched my glare at Ruby, but Ozpin seemed unaffected.

"We have contacted Two very powerful Huntsmen to provide help in this… predicament." Ozpin said.

I leaned back on my heels. "So are you going to tell us where Yang and Zachary are?" I said. "And why they need the help of two Huntsmen?" Goodwitch spoke.

"That is confidential information. We only hoped to console your worries about your friends, and that they are in good hands with these Hunters." Ruby sighed and rubbed her right temple with her fingers.

"Can you at least tell us who the Hunters are?" At that moment, Professor Goodwitch's scroll went off in her hands. She scrolled through it for a moment before frowning. She turned to Ozpin.

"They're here." He was staring at us when he spoke.

"I believe you two will be allowed to meet them. Come along, they are most likely having problems in the Port, with the military squatting here and all." I raised my eyebrows at his bitter attitude, but ignored it as he stood and led us to the elevator, his ever present cane in hand.

* * *

The port, in a word, was chaos. There were Military soldiers all over the area, but were mainly surrounding a single Bullhead that had landed awkwardly on one of the Helipads. Ozpin walked right into the large group of men, as they made a line to let us through. They continued letting the four of us past until the front line, where there was a large semicircle of Riot Shield Soldiers surrounding the Plane, and General Ironwood standing behind them. He turned as we approached.

"I assume this was your doing, Ozpin?" He nodded.

"Yes, I brought these men here." He sighed and put his head in one of his hands.

"I was very clear that there was to be no out of Vale contact with the city. These Huntsmen stole an Aircraft to come here, and landed against the orders of our Airspace Engineers." Ozpin stood high as he responded.

"James, you may have been assigned with the protection of the people, but I still have control over my school, and I will allow these men to land. Now disperse this Riot Line." There was tension in the air for a moment before Ironwood started yelling to his men.

"Alright, All Military personnel is Dismissed! I don't want to see any soldiers around this Bullhead in the next 10 minutes. Move out!" There was a light grumbling as the soldiers that had been looking for some action dispersed back to the Military Vessel. When all the men, as well as Ironwood had left, Ozpin started to lead us to the Bullhead. We only made it a couple feet before the back opened up, and two men were standing there. The first man was wearing a lot of black and grey. His outfit looked like something that would be a spec ops uniform, but looked rather strange on a man his age, which must have been at least 40. He had a large staff strapped to his back, but was small enough to be barely seen behind his head. He had a low, disinterested look on his face under a head of short pale blonde hair.

The other man was like the polar opposite of the first. He wore clothes that based around white and light grey. He wore rather casual clothing, with a white V neck T shirt, and grey gym shorts. He was larger than the first man, with bellowing muscles despite being around the same age as the first man. He looked a bit older, and had a deep frown on his face, but it didn't seem to fit him. He had the same hair as his brother, but his was a bit longer and straighter, as well as being a bit darker than the other, but still the same pale blonde hair.

The second the doors opened, Ruby gave a light gasp.

"Dad?!" The larger man saw Ruby, and his expression lightened a bit. He surged forward, quickly jogging to Ruby as she ran ahead of us as well. As soon as they got together, the man kneeled down and gave Ruby a huge hug, putting his hand on the back of her head as he held her.

"Hey, Rubes. How've you been? Is everything alright?" Ozpin, Goodwitch, and I walked over to the two of them, and the other man walked from the bullhead as well.

"It's good to see you again, Taiyang. You as well, Qrow." The Larger man, Ruby's father, looked up at Ozpin and let his daughter go, but still holding her shoulders as he looked at him.

"Where is she?" The smaller man sighed, walking over to him.

"Tai, calm down. We'll find her." He looked down at Ruby. "Hello, Ruby." Ruby looked at him with a smile and hugged the smaller man, Qrow, as well.

"Hi, Uncle Qrow." When they separated, she backed up a bit, looking at Ozpin, but before she could say anything, her father spoke quickly.

"Ozpin, where is my daughter? I'm not going to ask again." Ozpin spoke calmly.

"Tai, we'll brief both of you on the mission in my office." He opened his mouth to say something, but instead nodded silently. He turned to Goodwitch.

"Glynda. It's good to see you again." She nodded back to him with a warm smile.

"Yes, and you as well Tai." He then looked at me.

"And I don't believe we've met, young man." I stepped forward and offered a hand.

"Amber Pleasant. It's a pleasure to meet you, sir. I'm a friend of Ruby's." He raised his eyebrows as he shook my hand with a firm grip.

"Sir?" He gave a hearty laugh. "Please, call me Tai, or Mr. Xiao Long if you want to be formal. I'm Ruby's dad." He turned to the smaller guy, who was still quiet, and pushed him forward.

"This is Qrow, my younger brother and Ruby and Yang's uncle. He's a quiet little guy, but one of the best fighters to walk Remnant." He gave a half smile and shook my hand, obviously used to getting hassled by his brother.

"Good to meet you, Amber." I nodded back.

"And you as well." When he stepped back, Ozpin spoke.

"Well, now that introductions have been complete, let's return to my office." We all followed him back to the main building.

* * *

The moment the doors had opened, and we were all free of the cramped elevator, Taiyang was already questioning Ozpin.

"So where, exactly, is Yang?" The Headmaster sighed and walked to his desk. After a moment on his computer, he glanced up at Ruby and I.

"Thank you for coming, but you are both dismissed." I blinked, confused as to why Ozpin would bring us up here if he was going to just dismiss us moments later, but I figured it out when Ruby crossed her arms.

"I'm not going anywhere. If we're saving Yang, then Weiss, Blake, and I are going to be helping." Qrow stepped towards her.

"Don't be so stupid, girl. This is a mission for a Hunter, and you are yet to be one." She glared at him.

"We WILL help, whether you like it or not." Silence. I stared at Ruby in awe. Not many of the students here would have the courage to stand up to four Hunters. The adults were all staring at her in surprise, except Ozpin, who had a smile on his face. Suddenly, Ruby's dad started bellowing in laughter.

"That's how I raised her! Good that!" He turned away from a red faced Ruby to look at Ozpin. "We would love to have them along." The Headmaster nodded thoughtfully.

"Well, I hoped to keep the rest of her team safe, but if you insist…"

"We do." Tai said confidently. I glanced at Qrow, to see him with a disdainful look, staring at Tai, but it quickly subsided as Ozpin placed a small gadget on the table in front of him. When he pressed a button on the side, a holographic projection came out of the top, showing us what had to be on his monitor. The screen showed Yang and Zach.

"These are the two students that are in danger at the moment. Yang Xaio Long and Zachary Milos." Qrow sucked in a breath.

"Milos?" Ozpin nodded silently. "Where are those two at this moment?" There was a moment of silence as Ozpin opened up the overhead view of Vale with the two green dots in the Emerald Forest.

"You will be infiltrating the Milos Syndicate Mansion." _What?! Why are they with Zachary's Family?!_ I glanced at Ruby to see the same scared expression I was feeling. Qrow gave a low whistle.

"That's quite a danger, Ozpin."

"Remember, Qrow. Whatever it takes." Tai said with a serious voice. There was a moment of awkward silence before he pointed at Zach's face.

"So what's his story?" Ozpin brought Zachary's face to cover the entire screen, and handed Tai and Qrow matching folders.

"These are his records. Zachary Milos came to us on a whim days before the initiation for the school. He gained his scholarship along with Ruby here in the same Robbery. He had broken all ties to his family when we met, and was welcomed to the life of a Hunter. Having more potential than most I've seen in my days, he was assigned to lead two full teams of Hunters and Huntresses, so that they could be a larger force for more dangerous missions, which includes both your daughters and their team. He has been more than an exceptional leader and has brought the best from these students." Qrow had only looked at the records for a moment, but Tai was studying them extensively.

"It says here that he was very close to the members of his teams." He closed the folder with a surprisingly loud snap. "How close was he to Yang?" He was giving Ozpin a cold stare, but before anything could be said, Ruby hastily spoke.

"They were friends, just like how me and him are friends." She quickly turned to Ozpin. "This isn't important right now." Tai stared at his daughter, obviously surprised at her quick action to save Yang. There was a moment that I thought he would ask more, but he quietly gave his folder back as well.

"Alright, we seem to have everything we need. When will contact be made?" Ozpin lowered his glasses.

"As soon as humanly possible." Tai smiled.

"Then we'll move tonight." He glanced at Ruby. "Can you rally the rest of your Team by that time?" She nodded.

"Of course. I just need a time and place."

"10:45 tonight, we'll all be at the Port." She smiled and nodded.

"Alright. I'll head back to my Dorm and contact Weiss and Blake." She turned to me. "Amber, you coming along?" I nodded silently. Following her as she started walking for the elevators, but when we turned back to press the button to go down. Tai was in there with us. He was smiling from ear to ear.

"We've got some hours to burn, why not spend time with you and your friends?" Ruby blushed, now embarrassed, but I just smiled. This man's bad side seemed nonexistent.

* * *

"And this is The RWBY Dorm." Ruby and I have been taking her father on a tour around Beacon. He had been quiet, listening the entire time with interest. In the Dorm, Weiss had returned from her trip to Vale and stood up tiredly when Ruby walked in.

"Oh good, you're back. Let me just say, Sending mail is a real hassle." She was a smiles for that moment before Tai walked in behind her. She froze on the spot, but his warm smile seemed to help her relax.

"Ah, you must be Weiss! Ruby has said many things about you in her letters!" He stepped forward and shook her small hand quickly, but since Weiss was so tiny against him, her entire body shook along with her hand. The second he let go, Weiss straightened up and smoothed out her dress.

"Yes, I'm Weiss Schnee. How are you?"

"I'm Ruby and Yang's father, Taiyang Xiao Long, but please, call me Tai." She nodded silently, still trying to get a hold of the situation.

"Uhhh, yes, I shall do that." She suddenly pulled Ruby aside, ignoring Ruby's squeal of complaint. Tai and I looked at each other for a moment as the spoke in privacy before he both laughed. Before we had stopped and actually said anything to each other, Weiss and Ruby had straightened up again. Weiss stepped forward in a real formal manner.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Xiao Long." He smiled before brushing off her attitude.

"Oh, there's no need to be so stiff. You've earned my respect already, by just being friends with my daughter, so come along, welcome to the family!" He gave her a slight jostle, but she was just in a shell shocked silence. Ruby's face went red in embarrassment again.

"Dad!" He looked at her with an innocent face.

"What?" She started to stutter before she separated the two of them. In the process of the struggle, Blake had walked in the door, but also froze when she saw Tai. He turned to look at her as he heard the door open and smiled even wider when he saw her.

"Oh! Black clothes, Bow. You must be Blake! It's nice to finally meet you. I'm Taiyang, Ruby's Father." He put a hand out, and Blake shook it, but with much more grace than Weiss had.

"Blake Belladonna. It's nice to meet you." She said nothing else, but instead brushed past him to move to her friends. Finally unfrozen, Weiss spoke to Tai confidently.

"Not that we aren't all very happy to finally meet you, believe me, but is there a reason you've come all the way from Patch?" He nodded, but Ruby spoke for him.

"He came on Professor Ozpin's will. My Dad and My Uncle Qrow are going to help us find Yang and Zach." Blake smiled.

"And not a moment too soon."


	10. Chapter 10: Proposals

_**Zachary's POV**_

"Wake up, you're wasting my time!" My eyes flashed open as I sat up quickly. It took me a moment as I blinked away the sleepiness to see Lium leaning against the doorway, smiling is smug smile. He wore a black eye from must have been our fight, still lingering. Yang was waking up slowly, and when she saw Lium standing in the doorway, she covered herself with the comforter. Even though she was wearing her pajamas, I was grateful. I growled in his direction.

"What do you want?" He grinned at my anger.

"Grandfather assigned me to escort you to your training." He said. "Your lucky I'm generous. I'm giving you 30 minutes to get ready. I'll be back here then." With that, he left, the door swinging closed behind him. I swung my feet over and stood up, heading over to my bag on the dresser in my boxers.

"You can have first shower." I said, not bothering to look at Yang. I got a small murmur in return, and a moment later, the bathroom door closed. When the shower started, I started to unpack my things. It was just enough to fill the drawer, really. I stopped when I picked up my jacket. I held it for a moment, staring at the light material. It was only a moment before I crouched down to slide it under the dresser, pushing it all the way to the back. If anyone saw that I still had that, there would be hell to pay. At that thought, I froze. Very slowly, I put my hand to my back, just on top of my tattoo. _Courage, Bravery, Integrity_. What was I going to do about that? Anybody that could read in the family would be able to understand what it says. They would know that it was an act of defiance. Slowly, a cold hand was put over mine.

"We'll be fine." Yang said. "We can hide this." I turned my head just enough to look at her before sighing, putting my bag on the floor. She was still wearing her towel

"Yang, you need to follow me when we go out there." I said. She nodded.

"Alright." She started to turn away, but I caught her before she could. She turned to look at me.

"I mean it. There's no telling what their "training" is going to be." I said. She put a hand on my shoulder reassuringly.

"I'll be fine, Zach. Go take your shower." I stared at her for a moment, but she pushed me towards the bathroom with a smile.

"We'll be fine. Go." I nodded, heading into the bathroom.

* * *

When Lium opened the door, Yang and I were waiting. She was wearing her usual clothes, while I was wearing a pair of black jeans with orange lacings and a black T shirt with orange sleeves. He smiled and clicked his tongue at Yang.

"Now, now. Where is the orange? Looks like we're going to have to get you fitted for clothes today." I nodded.

"Alright, alright. Let's go." Lium got out of the way as I pushed past Lium, Yang following close behind. He smiled as he led us through the halls. He pointed out different destinations to Yang as we passed them, but eventually led us to the Kitchen on the first floor. There were a few people about when we went in, mostly older family, but there were a couple adults. The kitchen was huge, but it was more of a dining room. A lot of tables, and a separate room with an actual kitchen area. Lium bounced straight over to the counter, picking up an apple out of the bowl before turning to us.

"You two have full range of the kitchen and it's stocks at any time. We have some time for breakfast, so go happy." He took a large bite of his apple as Yang and I started browsing the fridge and pantry. There was a lot to offer, and after a bit of searching, we got started on a couple pancakes. We cooked quietly, despite the gleeful conversation that took place when we had cooked in our dorm in Beacon. It seemed wrong to have a happy conversation in front of my cousin. Once we were done, the two of us brought our breakfast into the dining room, sat down, and started eating. Lium didn't join us, but instead watched us with a smile from the kitchen door, eating his second apple. The others in the room glanced at us, murmuring to each other. I couldn't hear what their saying, but I could make a guess. _Zachary, the traitor._ I ignored the thoughts looking up at Yang. She seemed fine, eating away at her pancakes. When she saw me staring she looked up.

"What is it?" Silence in the room. I stared for a second longer before smiling.

"You're beautiful." She smiled back before leaning forward to kiss me over the small table. I leaned forward as well, deepening the kiss before we both leaned back. If their gonna watch, might as give them a show. We smiled at each other for a moment longer before we both continued eating. It wasn't long before we were both done, and took our plates back to clean them and put them away. We met with Lium at the entrance when we were done, and we caught him just as he was throwing his second apple core away. He gave us a teethy smile.

"You ready to go?" Yang nodded.

"Yeah, lead the way." He walked out without another word, ignoring the elderly as he led us away from the kitchen, but he was stopped at the door to the dining room as a man walked up.

"Lium." His smile wavered just a moment, but reappeared in a second.

"Hello, father. How are you this morning?" The man waved his hand dismissively.

"Good, good. I just came for Master Cain. He says to skip training today. He wants you to bring _them_ up to his see him." He pointed his head at us as he said them. Seems like not everybody was happy with Cain's decision to bring me back. Lium nodded.

"Alright, I'll get on that." Without another second, Lium's dad just left. He looked after him for a moment before cursing under his breath. He then turned back to us, his smile ever present, despite his anger seconds ago.

"Well, it looks like you're going up to Cain's office. Come on." He then strode off without another word. We walked at a brisk pace, but when we got to the stairs, he stopped.

"I don't have permission to the top floor. You two go on up." I nodded and led Yang up the stairs. We climbed from the bottom floor all the way to the top. When we crested the last step, we found ourselves in the middle of a sea of adults. This was where much of the family was when they hit 21, so it was like a party up here all the time. Yang and I were noticed immediately, and slowly, the room began to get quieter and quieter, until it was silent. All eyes were on us. I gulped once before walking straight to Cain's door on the other side of the room. Yang walked beside me, but her love for the spotlight was not in effect right now. She cringed under the sight of all the assassins, looking down at her feet as she followed me. The adults all scooted to the sides as we passed, making a large walkway for us. It actually seemed like a relief to put my hand on the knob of The Office door, quickly opening it for Yang, and then walking in myself. I closed the door quickly behind me, and turned back to the office. The room looked close to identical to the way I had seen it before, the only difference being the papers on the desk. Cain was smiling, the light still in his eyes from last night.

"I see Roland was able to find you two. Good, I wanted to speak with you." I straightened up.

"Yes, Grandfather?" He stood up and walked around his desk.

"I would like the ceremony for your marriage to be as soon as possible." I nearly took a step back in surprise. I opened my mouth to speak, but I found that my throat was dry, and I couldn't formulate words.

"W-what?" Yang said, obviously as surprised by the haste as well. Cain stood in front of his desk and leaned back on it.

"I would like the ceremony to be tomorrow. You will both be officially welcomed in the family, and then afterward, the two of you can start training and then missions." I froze with that. Mission's meant assassinations. I glanced at Yang to find her looking down, most likely still distracted by our marriage. I took a step forward.

"Grandfather, may I make a suggestion." He smiled and put his hands on my shoulders in a way he must have thought would be reassuring.

"Of course." I looked up into his grey eyes.

"You have obviously made large plans in Vale, working alongside the White Fang, and all. We should delay the wedding, wait until the time is more… desirable." Yang had sucked in a breath when I said to delay the wedding, and Cain became steely at that time as well.

"Yes, we are working alongside the White Fang, but I shouldn't imagine you didn't know that already." I shifted on my feet as Cain walked back behind his desk. He reached for one of the drawers, pulling something out. He dropped it on the desk roughly. It was the handle to the drawer I had kicked in.

"I understand that at the time we were enemies, but I don't understand this useless vandalism."

"What is he talking about?" Yang said. I glanced back at her, but before I could say anything, Cain was speaking.

"Where you not an accomplice of his as he trespassed on our land, threatened a child, and then vandalized my property in search for official documents?" There was silence in the room. I could feel Yang staring at the back of my head. I wanted to speak, but Cain was quicker once again.

"I believe that marrying the two of you today would be the most sensible idea." He said. "I believe you two should have some free time before you wed, so you have the rest of the day to yourselves. You may return to your room." I stared for a moment, wanting to curse him and run, but I couldn't. Instead, I calmly turned around and walked out with Yang. The two of us ignored all the watchful eyes as we headed back to the stairs.

* * *

"Why didn't you tell me?" I leaned against the bedpost on the footboard as Yang paced the room.

"I didn't want you to worry. It was during your mission in Mt. Glenn." She turned to me angrily.

"So what would have happened if you were hurt? If you were captured?" I grimaced under her lecturing.

"Maggie was helping me." I said quietly.

"So you trust her more than you trust me!" I looked up quickly.

"What?! No! I mean, I was just trying to protect you from coming here! That's been my goal this entire time, to keep you from here! You don't know what they can make you do, what they turn you into!" She backed up from my sudden audacity.

"Zach, you can't protect me forever." She said. "You're going to have to learn to trust me." I brought myself from the wall and stepped towards her, just to quickly kiss her. She went quiet as we kissed, and when we broke apart, we just had our foreheads pressed together.

"I trust you more than I trust myself." She smiled and kissed me back, but this time it was much deeper. It wasn't long before we were in bed, ferociously clinging to each other as we kissed with vigor.

* * *

We lied on top of the bed after spending the day relaxing in the room, kissing really. Exhausted, we were happy with just cuddling, my arm around her as I lay on my back. We had been quiet thus far, mostly just enjoying each others presence and privacy in the tense situation we were in. Suddenly, Yang spoke.

"You know, would getting married be such a bad thing?" I looked down and gave her a strange look. Of disbelief and confusion. I stared down at her questioning face, beautiful. I wondered, _would it be that bad?_ I would get to be with Yang everyday, and would be able to say that we have a connection. We would have bonds that I couldn't have with anyone else because we would be each others. I smiled at the thoughts.

"No." I said. "It would be a great thing." She smiled up at me.

"We are getting married tomorrow, aren't we?" I nodded.

"Yeah, I guess we are." She looked into space for a moment, and I watched her, practically able to see the gears turning in her head.

"You know, you never actually asked to marry me." I smirked down at her.

"I never _asked_?" It seemed absurd to the situation, but in another way, it is a huge milestone. She nodded solemnly.

"Yeah, we just went along with what was happening, but you never actually asked me to marry you." I thought for a moment.

"Can you guarantee I'll get a yes?" She smiled.

"Nope." I laughed.

"Alright, then." I gently lifted her off me and got off the bed. She sat on the side as I kneeled in front of her.

"Yang Xiao Long. You are beautiful, intelligent, amazing, and- and a million other great and fantastic things I couldn't even begin to describe. You have changed my life forever, making me love you more and more with every passing day, because yes, I love you. I love you with every cell in my body and in every breath that I take, I love you. I wouldn't be able to stand living any day without you, and wouldn't ever want to. I want to give myself to you in every way I can, and with myself I provide this one question. Will you marry me?" She was smiling in bliss. Happy scrawled across her face in a million languages. She nodded at incredible speed.

"Yes, yes. I will. I can't wait for tomorrow!" I jumped up and hugged her deeply, nearly picking her up from my newfound excitement. When we had been hugging for nearly a minute, spinning in circles, we finally separated, if only barely. She spoke quietly, being only a centimeter from my face.

"I love you, too." That was when the explosions started.


	11. Chapter 11: Preparation

_**Amber's POV**_

"Is everybody ready?" Team RWBY had been hurrying around their room, gathering gear as they prepared for their Mission. It was 10:30 and they only had a couple more minutes before they needed to head to the Ports to meet Tai and Qrow. I was just sitting at one of the desks, watching them as they ran about. Ruby and Blake were now at the door, waiting for Weiss.

"Just a minute!" Weiss yelled as she rummaged through a case full of Dust crystals, pulling out specific ones and placing them in her weapon. She seemed to be having trouble with putting the Dust in Myrtenaster as she fumbled with the delicate gems. I sighed, standing up. I walked over to her and steadied her hand as she placed the last crystal into place. She glared up at me as I raised an eyebrow.

"Worried?" She growled, standing up stiffly.

"No, of course not. Now get out of my way." She pushed past me, walking out the door past her Teammates. Ruby and Blake glanced at each other before racing after her. I had no choice but to follow, catching up to them at the end of the hallway.

"Weiss, it's fine to be nervous." Ruby said, matching her brisk pace.

"I'm fine." Weiss said confidently, but there was a tightness in her voice that was strung up a bit more than usual. Blake spoke in her calm voice.

"We have completed a mission before. We can handle this." She said as soothingly as she could. Weiss glared at her.

"Of course we can handle it, why couldn't we? It's not like we're attacking one of the most dangerous facilities on Remnant!" She turned on us suddenly. "Oh wait! We are!" There was an anger in her voice, but there was a vulnerability behind it. Ruby was shrinking at the sudden burst, and Blake was silent as usual. I stepped past them, standing in front of Weiss.

"Weiss, take a deep breathe. You were the essence of calm during Mt. Glenn. Why are you letting yourself go now?" She glared at me, but after a moment, just turned and pushed through the door to the stairs. Blake followed her quickly, but Ruby hadn't moved, still shocked. I nudged her until she came back.

"Hey, come on, you can't back down now. Go be a leader." She looked up at me, and nodded.

"Yeah, thanks. I gotta go." With that, she was gone. The door slammed open behind her as she raced down the stairs. The only thing left behind were rose petals.

* * *

_**Qrow's POV**_

"We can't lead them to danger." I leaned against the bay of the Bullhead, crossing my arms as I watched Tai. He was completely still as he was staring out to Vale across the water. I could only see the back of his head, but I could tell he was thinking about Yang. Nothing was going to stop him from protecting his daughters, but allowing Ruby to join us was not what I expected of him.

"What do you mean?" He said, still not moving.

"I mean that putting them at the feet of The Milos Syndicate is something of murder! Do you think they will give mercy?" I said. He wasn't fazed by my words. He refused to turn and look at me. He spoke in his charismatic way when he's trying to prove his point.

"These girls need a way to prove themselves further." He then finally turned to walk over to me. "And if I didn't allow her along, Ruby would've followed anyway. At least she has her friends with her now." I came off the ship and walked in his face as well as I could at 5 inches lower than him.

"So you'd rather kill 3 girls than one, very intelligent, my brother." He growled down at me.

"I am doing no such thing. You heard what she and her team achieved at The Breach. They held off waves a Grimm, saving thousands. I think they'll be just fine against The Family." I glared up at him.

"They had the assistance of two other teams of Hunters in Training, and the Military! Now they've got only us!"

"And we'll protect them!"

"You think we can protect all three of them against all of them! We couldn't even handle a fight against one of the higher agents!"

"You couldn't!" I turned, walking away. If this continued any longer, then this would evolve to a real fight.

"Hey, Dad!" The two of us quickly turned to see Ruby and the rest of her team walk over to us. Tai's face completely changed back to a smile.

"Ah, you're here!" He quickly walked over to them, corralling the to the ship. I watched them as they passed, my brother ignoring their squeals of complaint. I walked in behind them, the doors closing behind us.

"Alright, We're going to brief you on the mission one last time before we arrive there." The ship started to take off, and we held the bar above us to stay balanced. When they didn't respond, I started.

"We will be dropped off in the closest clearing to the Mansion, which will beee…." I pulled out my scroll to see the mission agenda, but before it could be pulled up, Weiss spoke.

"The Meadow." I looked up to see Weiss looking down. Her teammates glanced at her, but then also looked away. Weiss looked up at me, sensing me staring at her. "It's a meadow in the Emerald Forest, only a few miles away from where the Mansion is. It was the base of a forest fire not long ago." I stared at her for a moment before returning to my scroll. After flicking through the agenda a bit, I came across our drop off, I saw an overhead photo of a burned down forest. I looked back up at her to find Weiss looking back down.

"How did you know that?" She looked back up at me and opened her mouth, but no words came out. After a moment, she finally spoke.

"It's not my place to say. Ask Zach after we save him." I watched her for a moment before looking over at Tai, he was staring at Weiss as well. When he noticed me, he looked over. We started to have a silent conversation.

_Who is this boy?_ He shook his head.

_I don't know._ With a flick of his head, he was looking away sternly. _But I intend to find out._ I looked back at the girls, ignoring the awkward moment.

"When we arrive, as Weiss said, we will be about 10 miles away. We will have to hike that way, but once there, we will only act in stealth. There will be nearly a hundred assassin's inside, all trained with different styles of fighting. You are not to engage the enemy under any circumstances."

"Unless they attack you." Tai cut in. "If you are approached, then you may counter." I glared at him.

"No, you are to retreat if you are engaged." I turned back to the girls. "These men and women are out of your league. Should you be attacked, defend yourselves and run. Leave the fighting to us." I could feel Tai's glare, but I continued to look at the girls.

"We are going to split into two groups. Two of you will go with my brother, one of you will come with me."

"We're splitting up?!" I looked at Weiss again. She had a much more scared face than before. Very quietly, Blake leaned in to her.

"Weiss, calm down. We'll be okay." I looked down at her.

"Are you alright?" She looked up at me, fear covering her face, but only for a second. All of a sudden, she froze over, a steely expression taking over.

"Of course I'm alright. I'm Weiss Schnee and I am prepared for this." I watched her as she stared up at me confidently, but the fear could still be seen in her eyes. I glanced at Tai.

_Do your thing._ He nodded, leaning down as he braced a pipe next to the open side. He placed a single hand on Weiss's shoulder.

"Weiss, it's fine to be scared. We all are, especially me, but you need to stay strong. We are fighting to save your Teammate Yang and your leader Zachary. If you let your fear control you, then you will become a burden upon us all." She tense up at that.

"I will _not _be a burden!" He smiled.

"Then allow yourself to be calmed. Qrow and I are here to protect you, so you will not be alone." He looked down at her with a soothing look. "Will you be okay?" I watched her, thinking that she would push him away. She instead nodded.

"Yes, I'll be fine." She then turned to me as Tai stood back up. "How are we splitting up?" I glanced at Tai, but he was just smiling at his daughter and her team. How he is capable of such persuasion is beyond me.

"The two of you that will be with Tai will be a distraction squad. You will move further into the house, making other problems that will draw away the more powerful assassins. The one of you that will be coming with me will be moving through the facility until we find Zachary and Yang. We will escort them out of the mansion, and back to the drop off point or "The Meadow." Now, who will be coming with me. I need the one of you with the most stealth." Weiss and Ruby both looked at Blake. She nodded at me when I looked at her.

"That would be me." I nodded, placing her name next to mine on the scroll.

"Alright, you will be with me to save Yang and Zach. Ruby and Weiss will be with Tai." When I was done moving things around on the scroll, I folded in down and put it back in my pocket. I pulled an ear piece out of one of the small containers connected to my belt. It was part of a matching set, and as I put one in my ear, I handed one to my brother.

"Here, this is how we will communicate." He nodded, putting it in his ear with practised ease.

* * *

The Bullhead lifted back off the ground, leaving us in the open area. It was a large area, completely untouched by trees. The surrounding area had destroyed trees covered in soot. The ground was covered in ash as well, making the area seem like the center of the apocalypse. I found myself having tuned out the others, and turned back to look at them, only to find Tai. He was staring at the girls, who were standing in the middle of the clearing around a large rock. There appeared to be markings on the face of the boulders, but all it really looked like was chicken scratch. They seemed to be watching the rock, as if it was going to say something. Neither Tai, nor I thought it would be a good idea to interrupt them, so we waited, standing side by side as they watched. It was only a minute or so before they all looked at each other and returned to us. I raised my eyebrows at Ruby, but she just looked down, as if sad for some reason.

"Honoring the dead. You two ready to move out?" I felt Tai tighten at the thought of death, but before he could ask who and why, I walked in front of him, north to the mansion.

"Yes, come on. We've got about 10 miles of walking, and we need to move quickly."


	12. Chapter 12: Pain

_**Taiyang's POV**_

Qrow and I walked side by side though the forest, my daughter and her friends following close behind. It's been 9 miles and none of them have complained once, not even making a sound really. They had been quiet since the drop off at "The Meadow." I've wanted to ask about who they were mourning, but Qrow wouldn't let me say anything. It wasn't even really mourning, it was more like… _respecting._ Yeah, that's it. Respecting the dead. Oum, I'm off topic again. I need to be thinking about the mission. Go in, wreck everything, kill as many assassins I can find, get out.

"Tai, you alright?" I looked over at Qrow to see him looking ahead, ignoring me. It occurred to me then that the voice had come from my earset, not Qrow in particular. I looked ahead again and I heard him through the speaker.

"Murmur under your breath. The mics are sensitive enough to pick it up." I nodded for a split second before stopping.

"Yeah, I'm fine." There was silence.

"You can't overstay your welcome when we get there."

"What do you mean?" Why couldn't my brother be a little more blunt with his speech?

"I mean, you can't lose your mind and kill everybody there for taking Yang. You need to keep a cool head and get out of there when I tell you." I practically snarled.

"I'll be fine. And I will kill those son of bitches, you can't stop me."

"What about Ruby?"

"..." I hadn't thought much about the fact that her and Weiss would be joining me.

"Do you really want your daughter to see that side of you?" No, I didn't. Ruby couldn't see that, she'll never look at me the same way. I growled.

"Fine. But if I find a chance to take out the sumbitch that took Yang, then nothing will stop me from tearing his throat out." There was silence on the line. A while longer and Qrow stopped, pulling out his Scroll. We all stopped to look at him.

"Alright, the mansion is right through these trees, only a while longer. Ruby and Weiss will go with Tai ahead of Blake and I. They'll get inside and make some noise inside, while we will take an alternate route to get inside quietly to find Yang and Zachary." The girls all nodded in affirmative. I looked behind me, squinting my eyes to look through the trees. I could barely see a large building about a hundred feet out. When I turned back to them, Qrow and Blake were already gone, probably waiting for our distraction, and the other girls were watching me. I gave a smile.

"Let's go. There are people to save!" I gave a triumph laugh and started to walk towards the mansion, The girls following close behind. I spoke to them as the started to walk at my sides.

"Don't unsheath your weapons yet. We can move more quickly without them, but when we come across any Assassins, I will tell you when to get ready for combat."

"I said No Combat." Said Qrow through the headset. I frowned, taking the earpiece out. I don't want Qrow talking in my ear this entire time. I stuffed it in my pocket as Weiss watched me carefully.

"Isn't that the only way to find out when Qrow and Blake have found Yang and Zach?" I nodded.

"It was, but the plan has changed. I'm taking you two throughout the house until we find them, and we won't stop searching until we find them." I pulled my weapons from their attachment to my pocket, unclipping them from the inside. I pulled the knuckle dusters apart, pulling them onto my fingers. I smiled as I flexed my fingers, the golden spikes coming out and retracting with each flexed muscle. I glanced at Ruby to see her watching the spikes coming in and out, most likely wondering if I will use blunt force of killing blades. I stared at her for a moment before retracting the spikes once again, leaving only the golden blunt metal on my knuckles. I could hear her sigh of relief as I put my hands back at my was a couple more feet before I stopped the girls. We were on the edge of the clearing, the giant building just ahead of us. I turned to whisper to the girls.

"Okay, If they're smart, then they have at least on sniper in one of those windows, watching the perimeter. Remember, these people are masters with weaponry. If you put a gun in their hands, they will not miss." The girls looked at each other nervously, but I raised a finger. "I have a plan though. Ruby, may I borrow Crescent Rose?" She pulled out her scythe, staring down at her loved weapon for a second before handing it to me. I held the block with precise efficiency having watched Ruby practice with this tool thousands of times. I switched it into sniper mode, pulled the cock to release a bullet, and then pulled it up to my shoulder around a tree. I wasn't used to the gun's small stature, made for Ruby, but I was able to aim up with it with ease anyways. I searched the building's windows, as well as the roof, looking for snipers or assassins. It was nearly 20 minutes before I found a shape completely in black, hiding prone in one of the top buildings. I stared at it for a moment before I saw the slightest twitch, and a long barrel being moved around. I very slowly took in a breath before pulling the trigger. The sniper moved for a split second before the bullet pierced his skull. I grimaced confidently before pulling Crescent Rose back up.

"Did you get him?" I turned to Ruby with a nod before giving it back to her.

"Yes, there will be people coming out here in seconds. Here's the plan, we move forward now, pushing forward as quickly as we can before too many come out, then we'll just search the house until we find your friends." I looked back at the house to see a man and a woman walking out, both armed with rifles. I nodded to the girls and we all came out of cover. I charged forward, ahead of them. The assassins saw us almost immediately, but before they could fire, I raised a hand up, releasing my semblance. In between the soldiers, there was a bright flash, like a tiny supernova created from nothing. I smiled as they both reared back, literally blind from the flash, and pushed back from the explosion. They shot fires randomly in the air as I charged towards them, but before I could get there, there was a shot from behind me and when I turned to look, there was already a red flash past me. When I looked back at the assassins, I saw Ruby sweeping the feet from the man, slamming the side of her blade in his head to knock him out, and a half second later, Weiss plummeted from the sky right into the woman, plunging her rapier into the assassins shoulder. There was a scream before she pulled her blade back out, jumping off the soldier. When she landed, Ruby had already knocked the woman out as well. They both stood up, turning to me. I nodded, having just gotten to them.

"Reinforcements will be here soon, let's go ahead and meet them inside." Ruby nodded, taking the lead, but Weiss hesitated. I sighed, turning to her.

"Weiss, you can head back to the Drop off now, if you want. You don't have to go in there if you don't think you can." She stared at the door for a few seconds before I started to tap my foot. We didn't have much time to stand around, and I couldn't waste this opportunity. Just before I sent her back, she gulped and shook her head.

"No, I will not run. Let's go." She ignored her own fear and confidently walked forward, meeting with Ruby at the door. I quickly followed with a smile and walked in to lead. When we got inside I found a huge staircase in the middle of the house, going all the way up to the top floor. Around the sides were hallways that lead to different rooms. I looked around for a minute before seeing a door under the stairs, on the side of the support.

_A Basement._ I turned to the girls.

"Okay, We're going to check out down here. Just follow behind me, but just stay at the bottom of the stairs to watch the entrance." They nodded in affirmative before I opened the door, starting to descend the steps. When we got to the ground floor, I stopped them when the girls tried to follow me. They nodded, staying on the third step. By myself, I started to look around the dark room. It was a single room, not much larger than a flat appartment, but it was quite obviously a torture room. There were various bloodied tools and machines around the small room, all seemingly used recently. In one of the walls was four separate jail cells, all in close to complete darkness, the light from the single light fixture in the ceiling not reaching the small rooms. Very slowly, I walked over to the cells, hoping to find my daughter inside, but when I looked in, it was much too dark to tell.

"Yang? Are you in there?" No response. "Zachary? Hello?" This time I got a very low whimper from the far cell. I quickly switched over to that one, holding the bars as I looked in.

"Hello? Who's in there?" I got a slightly louder whimper before a small shape started moving from the corner of the cell. The small prisoner walked forward very slowly until I could see him just behind the bars. It was a young boy with brown hair, ratty brown clothes stringing off his body. There was a single fox ear sticking out of his head, the other one sadly disappeared. He refused to meet my eye, looking straight down. He spoke very quietly, barely more than a whisper.

"Are you here to take my other ear? Or will you torture me? I already said I'm sorry, I did." He seemed have had a huge amount of trauma. I crouched down so we could see eye to eye, but he still refused to look at me.

"No, I'm here to save my daughter and her friend." He finally glanced up at me, but a second after he saw my face, he look away again.

"Can you save me, too? Please?" I bit my lip to stop from saying anything. If I said yes, then I would have to take this boy away from here immediately, and that's not an option. I need to find Yang first.

"Have you see a girl and a boy here in the past couple days? One has long yellow hair and the other has short brown hair." He shuffled on his feet.

"The only people I've seen here were the ones that hurt me." I got angry at that. Where could they possibly be then?! I looked back at the boy.

"Are you sure? You haven't seen anybody with the names Yang or Zachary?" He then looked up at me. He met my eyes and and held them there for a good while.

"I know the boy, Zachary. And I think I saw the girl as well, but that was weeks ago, before I was put here. Th-they were the reason I was here in the first place." I opened my mouth to respond, but before I could say anything, I heard a gasp behind me. I quickly turned to see Ruby standing at the foot of the stairs, staring right at the boy behind the bars. The boy looked past me to see her with widened eyes.

"You…" She stared back at him.

"Justin?" The Faunus boy started to tear up.

"They hurt me, cut off my ear." He held his arms against himself. "They burned me, but the fire, it didn't leave any marks, it didn't hurt me. It just hurt." She raced to me and pulled on the bars, as if to open the cell.

"Dad, we have to let him out, to get him out of here!" I stared down at her, not sure what to do.

"Well, well. Who do we have here?" I turned to the stairs again, but this time, I saw a standing at the bottom of them a man in black in orange. In his left hand, he had Weiss pulled against his body, and in his right was a revolver pushed against her skull. I stood completely still, not wanting to push that trigger finger. Justin whimpered behind me again, backing to dark of his cell.

"That's the man. He has the fire that hurts." The man smiled.

"Ah, yes! I see you've met my most recent...canvas." I had to bite my lip once again, just to stop myself from yelling at this man. I glanced down at Ruby to see her staring in complete fear at Weiss. The Heiress had about the same look on her face. Very slowly, I spoke.

"Where is your dignity? Why don't you fight me head on, instead of holding a young girl hostage." He cackled at that.

"And why would I do that?! You're Taiyang Xiao Long, one of the most famous Hunters for killing both of his wives!" I started to taste blood in my mouth, but if I unhinged my jaw from my lip, I might just kill this man. I opened my mouth to speak, but he started again. "No, no. That wouldn't be in good fun, and that's what matters! The fun! This is all a game isn't it, and isn't having fun the purpose of the game?" He smiled before a flash in his eyes. At once, I could hear an intense screaming come from the cell that the boy was in. I turned to see the boy engulfed in flames, screaming his head off as he rolled about on the damp floor, but the flames persisted. I watched in horror for nearly a minute before at once, the flames just ceased to be. Justin's screaming slowly came to a halt before the low whimpering began again. I turned back at the man, knowing that this was his doing.

"Burning a child alive is a game to you?!" He clicked his teeth.

"No, no, you don't understand, my friend! The boy is not burned, he is not injured, he was just merely in pain! And isn't pain just an art?!" Ruby shook her head in horror.

"You're a monster."

"Pah! You just don't understand the thrill. Maybe you'll understand when your beloved friend is burning." Not a moment later, the flash returned to his eyes and Weiss was alight with fire. Weiss' high pitched screams filled the chamber, high eyes nearly rolling back into her head in the burning pain. The man behind her smiled and laughed in her agony, but all I could do was stare. Watch in horror as I couldn't save the girl I was supposed to protect. Ruby did not just watch though. With a fierce yell and a flash of red, Ruby was at the two of them, her scythe pulling around to attack the man. Before he could say anything, his right arm was already moving towards the floor. Weiss was still burning when the man let go of her to put his hand to his right side, feeling where his arm used to be as he screamed in pain. I didn't wait this time, and rushed forward, cocking my fist back and punching him directly in the chest. He went flying back into the cement wall behind him, his head snapping back into it. When his head slopped back forward from the hit, Weiss suddenly stopped burning, the fires going out almost instantly. I glanced at her, to make sure she was alright, and when I turned back to the man slumped against the wall, Ruby was already there. She stood over him as he cowered, feeling for his arm, staring up at her with fearful eyes. She gave no mercy as she pulled him up to his knees with one hand on the front of his shirt, holding him up as he cried, and started to pummel him with the other hand. He fists were a fury that held nothing back as she slammed into every part of his body. I watched my daughter as she beat this man to almost a literal pulp, and with a final punch right to the jaw, he went slamming back into the wall. She started to walk over to him again, but I was there, holding her back. She thrashed against me, obviously wanting to hurt this man further, but I wouldn't let her go.

"Ruby, Ruby, calm down. You need to calm down." When I turned her around to look at me, she continued to push away, trying to attack the man again. Tears were streaming from her eyes as she punched at the air.

"Ruby." She stopped all at once, strange in my arms. We both turned to see Weiss struggling to sit up, hardly able to do anything on the ground. Ruby was then out of my arms and at her side, pulling her up to a sitting position.

"Weiss, are you alright?" There was a desperation in her voice. I kneeled down next to them, surprised at Ruby's sudden change of emotion, but more focussed on Weiss' condition.

"Ruby, I'm fine, just very very hurt." I looked down at them with sad eyes. Ruby fretting over Weiss as she lied harmlessly on the ground. They were out of the fight this time.

"Okay, We need to get you two out of here. Ruby, can you carry Weiss back to the drop off?" She seemed to be ignoring me, staring down at her Partner, but Weiss' answer was clear.

"She can't carry me, but I just need support." She made a huge effort to sit up, and succeeded, grunting in pain as she brought herself to her feet, altough the second she was up, she falling onto Ruby. Ruby pulled her arm over her shoulder and slowly walked her over to the stairs, but they would've fallen halfway if I hadn't caught them.

"I can help." I looked back at the cell. The small boy's voice had been clear, despite what he had been like earlier. When he saw that I was looking, he turned to me.

"I-I need to get out of here. If you let me out, I can help carry her out." He was pointing pitifully at Weiss. I looked down at him mercifully.

"Alright, stand at the back of your cell and hold your arms over your eyes." He nodded, and disappeared into the cell. A few seconds later, I held up my hand and the bright nova appeared at the lock of the cell. When it disappeared, the lock was a molten piece of what it was, easily pulled to the side. I beckoned the boy out of the cell, and as he slowly walked to me, he seemed to be getting more and more confident with each step. He passed me, and walked straight to Weiss and Ruby, taking Weiss' other arm over his shoulder. Ruby turned to me before she started for the door.

"I'll lead them back to the Meadow. Find Them." I nodded to Ruby, watching her as she headed up the stairs. Somehow I looked at her not as my 15 year old daughter, but a woman with responsibility. I followed them up a second later.


	13. Chapter 13: Problematic

_**Zachary's POV**_

The explosion was far enough away to shake the room, just enough to make me stumble to my feet, and Yang forced to brace the bed. She gave me a confused look.

"What is…?" I shook my head.

"I don't know." I looked around the room, expecting an explanation, but the silence persisted. It was exactly 8 more seconds before the next explosion went off, a loud pop that shook the ground a bit more than the last. Either the explosions were getting bigger, or they were getting closer. I didn't wait after this one, I instantly headed for the door, pulling it open. When I peered outside, I found people racing down the middle stairs, most of them wielding weapons of some sort. I looked back into the room at Yang, who was pulling Ember Celica onto her arms. I raised my hand to her before she finished.

"No, you'll be staying here. I'm going to go see what's going and come back." She frowned and shifted on her feet.

"Fuck no, I'm coming with you." I sighed.

"Yang, I need know figure out what's going on out there. If it's a soldier that's gotten this far, then he has to be intensely powerful. It's probably a straw fire or something, I'll go give it a look." She smirked and crossed her arms.

"Nice try, but I'm going out there, whether you like it or not." I stared at her for a moment, but nodded as she didn't back down.

"Alright, fine, but stay with me." She smiled and nodded, following me as I left the room, jogging to the stairs. Most the adults had already gone downstairs, but there were a few stragglers. I stopped a man that was racing down the stairs with a rifle in his hand. His name was Barakiel, I think.

"Hey, what's going on?!" He started talking, but didn't stop descending the stairs.

"Intruder. Killed Puriel in the Basement. Ripped his arm off and beat him to death." Puriel was a man to fear, psychotic in the mind and addicted to torturing prisoners. He deserved to die, but the fact that someone could kill him was a feat of itself. I glanced at Yang finding her staring down the steps, where most of the adults were running to. There were more explosions as more of them turned to the right as they got to the bottom floor.

"Okay, we're going to go down to take a look. Let's go." She nodded and followed me as we started to descend the stairs. When we got to the bottom, the last of the adults were running into the dining room, where there were constant flashes of light now, the explosions shaking the walls around us. We started jogging towards the battle, down the long hallway with doors lining the sides. Some of the doors were unhinged from the walls, either pushed inside or lying in the hallway. There were burn marks littered all over the place. We were ten feet from the door to the dining room, I could hear the yells and grunts of my family and the intruder, but before I could enter, a hand covered my mouth and I was pulled into one of the last rooms. I thrashed against the person that had me before I took my elbow, slamming it into the person's gut. I heard a man's grunt as the grip loosened a bit. I took that chance to pull my arms from his grasp, pulling his arm over me and to the floor. In a single movement, I had the man over my body, but before I could push him into the ground, He flipped in air, landing on his feet in front of me. I still had a grip on his arm, but with a single movement, he pulled my forearm up, before breaking it back down. I pulled my arm back in pain, jumping back a couple paces. The man had pulled me into one of the empty rooms down on the bottom floor. I glanced around the room, assessing my surroundings before I saw Yang in her partner's grasp next to the man.

"Blake?" She gave me a slight smiled before letting go of Yang, letting her jump towards me, flipping around to look at her kidnappers. She was in combat position for a second before she started looking surprised.

"Uncle Qrow?" The man that had tried to take me was staring back at me. He wore mainly black, an offset to his platinum hair. He now had a large Scythe in his right hand, held at his side. When he glanced at Yang, he gave a warm smile.

"Hello, Yang." When he glanced at me, his smile wavered, but returned. "I assume this is Zachary?" I nodded.

"Yeah, that's me. Now, why are you here?" I still hadn't unsheathed Blood and Glory, but my finger was itchy to hit the button. Blake answered for him.

"We came to get you two." Yang raised her eyebrows.

"Get us? What for?" Qrow narrowed his eyes.

"You do realize that you are one of the most dangerous areas on Remnant?" She glanced at me, but then looked back at Qrow. She opened her mouth to speak, but I spoke first. I had made a split second decision.

"Yeah, we need to get you out of here." She turned to me with a glare.

"I thought we talked about this, I'm not leaving you alone here!" Blake spoke quickly.

"What are you two talking about?!" I looked at her, pushing Yang to them. She stumbled forward, glaring back at me.

"Take her, go back to Beacon. I'm a Milos, this is my home." Yang stomped over to me, holding me by the front of my shirt.

"You don't tell me what to do! And don't you remember?! I'm a Milos now, too!" The man finally spoke again.

"What?! Yang, tell me what you're talking about right now!" She turned back to him with a wild look, anger easily seen on her face.

"Oh, you don't know? Zach and I work for the Milos Syndicate now. We're getting married tomorrow." He stared at her, open mouthed. I spoke quietly.

"Your name's Qrow, right? Yang's Uncle?" He turned to me, nodding silently. I waited not a second as I punched Yang in the back of the head. She crumpled to the ground as she passed out. Both of them gave yells of alarm before I bent down to pick her up in my arms. I walked straight to them man, placing her in his arms, bridal style.

"Take her, get out of here. I'm staying." Blake raised a hand.

"We're bringing both of you back." I glared at her.

"As your leader, I command you to take Yang back to Beacon, and to leave me here." She scowled and glared, but groaned in frustration in the end. I then turned to the man, who was watching me suspiciously.

"I can't order you to do anything, so I can only ask a favor. You and I both know that I am saving her." He stared a moment longer before speaking.

"I was given explicit orders to bring both you and Yang back." I crossed my arms.

"Tell them I'm dead, tell them I switched sides, I don't care. I'm staying." He glared at me, silence between us, but there was something different this time. I glanced at the door.

"What happened to the explosions?" Qrow looked as well, noticing the strange silence as well. 5 seconds, 10. It was exactly 13 seconds before the door burst inwards, flying at the back wall. I watched it go in surprise before I looked back at the empty door, seeing a large man standing there, his fist extended forward. He slowly pulled his fist back, looking into the room. He looked at Qrow and Blake, then me, and last at Yang. He stared at her in an eerie silence. Qrow slowly placed her down on the ground, staring at the man.

"Tai. Don't." He stared at her for a solid 5 seconds before he looked directly at me. There was a fire in his eyes. Not my fire, or any Milos fire, but a white, hot, deadly flame. He charged directly at me, punched me direct in the chest, and the darkness surrounded my vision.

* * *

_**Qrow's POV**_

"What happened to the girls?" Blake, Tai, and I ran through the forest, heading back to the drop off point. I carried Yang in my hands, unconscious, and Tai had Zach over his shoulder. Tai didn't look at me as he responded.

"I sent them back to the drop off some time ago. They'll be waiting for us there with a boy we found in the dungeons."

"A boy?"

"We can trust him, I think." I glanced at my brother, but didn't judge him. Tai knew people better than anyone else.

"What happened to the plan, Tai?" He didn't respond for a good mile.

"I had to find her, you knew that." I did, but I didn't expect him to take on all the assassins in the building. I waited another mile before I asked the grim question.

"How many?" He pressed his lips together, so I let it go.

* * *

We jogged into the clearing to find Ruby sitting with Weiss on the ashy ground, a young Faunus boy standing nearby. I couldn't help but notice the boy's single fox ear. When Ruby saw us run into the clearing, she stood up with Weiss. She was leaning heavily on Ruby.

"What happened to them?" Ruby was looking at the unconscious couple.

"The mission was a bit problematic, we'll brief each other when return to Beacon. I'll call the Bullhead back." I pulled out my scroll and called the pilot, calling him back to us, and 5 minutes later, he landed and let us in.

* * *

When the Bullhead doors opened, there were nurses there, ready to take Yang, Weiss, Zachary, and the Boy, Justin, to the infirmary. Ozpin was also waiting to the side. As Ruby and Blake went with their teammates, Tai and I walked to Ozpin. He nodded, expressionless, at us.

"The mission was a success?" I nodded back.

"Yes, we were able to return both Zachary and Yang, although most of the team was injured in the end. Nothing fatal, I believe." He smiled.

"Good. You will both be well provided for this. I thank you very much." I nodded again, but Tai scowled silently and stalked over to follow the girls. Ozpin looked at me with raised eyebrows.

"Tai is… angry to say the least. Yang is safe, his mind is at ease with that, but we were informed of some disturbing information from the two of them." When Ozpin had an expectant look on his face, I shook my head. "Nothing important, personal to Tai." Ozpin nodded, then.

"Ah, He must know about their relationship. I worried about what would happen when he found out."

"Wait, you knew?" He nodded.

"Yes, of course. I take time to know my student's actions, so I may better help them learn." I stared at him, but didn't question him further.

* * *

_**Amber's POV**_

The moment I heard that the girls had returned, and that most of them were injured, I headed straight for the Infirmary. I walked briskly down the hallways until I found myself outside the doors. I quickly opened them to find nurses and doctors swarming around the beds, more around Weiss and a Young boy than Zach and Yang. They were both sleeping silently in their beds, unlike Weiss. She was staring up at Ruby, who was standing beside her, talking to her lightly, while the doctors spoke and healed her. I walked straight to Ruby.

"Hey." She turned to look at me before looking back at Weiss, she barely seemed to notice me. Weiss gave me a weak look before staring back up at the ceiling. I took a couple steps back, seeing Blake sitting in one of the chairs at the side. I went and leaned against the wall next to her.

"What happened?" She shook her head at me.

"I don't even know. Weiss is too weak to do anything, and Ruby refuses to talk to anybody until Weiss is feeling better."

"What's up with the boy?" I looked at the little boy, sleeping quietly as the doctors stood over him. I saw that his head was very bandaged, but there was a single ear coming from his head that is bandaged as well.

"Kid was tortured by one of the Assassins. We saved him from the dungeons." I then looked at the couple sleeping.

"And them?"

"Unconscious." I looked to the door to see Taiyang walking towards us. "Both got knocked out during the mission." He gave me a hard stare.

"Why didn't you tell me that they were together?" I raised my eyebrows.

"I didn't know it mattered." He stared a moment longer before nodding.

"I guess you had no way of knowing, but I plan to have some words with them when they wake up."

"Why?" We all looked at Ruby, who had finally spoke. Tai stared at her.

"Why?" She turned to look at him with a cold look.

"Yeah, why?" She started walking towards him. "Why do you have to separate the two of them? There is no reason, whatsoever for you to protect her from him, but you still try to! Zach is one of the nicest guys I've ever met and he does everything he can to make her happy! If you want to try and pull them apart, then you won't be helping her, you'll be hurting her!" She was glaring up at him. She had just yelled at her father in the middle of the infirmary, silencing the rest of the room. She didn't seem to care that the entire room was staring at her, though. All her focus was on her dad. He stared at her with a surprised expression, obviously never having heard her act like this. I slowly stepped forward, putting my hands on her shoulders.

"Hey, let's go for a walk." She was staring at her dad, but willingly let me guide her out of the room. Her dad watched us leave with a hurt expression. When we got outside, Ruby pulled out of my hands and walked beside me. I led her outside, despite the darkness of the night. We walked around the campus for a couple minutes in silence before I spoke.

"Ruby, what's wrong?" She looked down, silent for a few moments.

"Weiss is hurt, Yang is hurt, I didn't protect them as a leader." I glanced at her. The way she said that was off. I didn't pry for a few moments, letting us just walk in silence again. After a couple more minutes, I spoke again.

"I think it's something else. You've had problems as a leader before, and it's never made you like this." She looked down again. I stopped and she turned to face me, but stayed looking down. I watched her for moment before speaking.

"It's Weiss." She flinched, approving my thoughts. "She was hurt, and you couldn't help her, so you feel hurt." She didn't answer. I put my hand on her shoulder reassuringly. I opened my mouth to speak, but she spoke before me.

"You're wrong." I studied her face for a moment.

"Then what is it?" She stared at me for a minute.

"Can I trust you to keep a secret?" I nodded slowly. She bit her lip before looking down.

"I think I'm in love with Weiss."


	14. Ending Announcement: New Writer

**Hey, guys GuffeyManipulation here! Wow, I haven't done one of these in a while, huh? Well, I guess it doesn't matter because it'll be the last of this story. I come bringing news, whether it's bad or good is up to you. I haven't written close to 60 total chapters for this story, the Canon and New Arc combined, and I have decided that I am done. I have given all rights to my OC's and the story to my most loyal reader, SupportTheTeam. He has been a huge help this entire time, and I am happy to give this to him. Although I am done writing this specific story, I am done with writing altogether. I am going to start another story fresh in the near future. I heartily thank all the people that have stayed reading sense the beginning, and all those who joined in along the way. All of those that want to read the rest may go to SupportTheTeam's profile, and I'm sure he'll have something up sometime soon. If anybody has any questions about what I'm going to be doing in the future, or what Support is going to do with the story, PM us. Thank you all!**


	15. Update: Info on Upcoming Work

Hey, guy's. It's been a while, huh? Like five months a while, but that's not important right now! Now that school is back in session, I have found myself with an excess amount of free time between classes, and lunch, and such, so I have decided to take this story back up! Yes, that's right readers! Courage, Bravery, Integrity is coming back! I spoke about doing three prequel stories about Zachary, Amber, and Magenta a while back, and I've been thinking about it again now. I've been dying to find something to write about(Other than SPHR, which has been my side story lately) that can quench my thirst for a real story, with real plot, and real characters! For now, I will be spending time starting up(And possibly just binge writing until I finish it) Intellect, which would be Magenta's backstory. This'll play into her entire life before her entrance into the story during near the end of what Canon I have right now. Amber and Zachary's backstories(Isolation and Rejection) will probably come along when I finish this. That is, if Volume 3 hasn't come out yet, in which case I will have to continue writing my Canon with that. Either way, this is what I'll be working on right now. PM or review if you have any questions regarding any plans I have, or anything else.

That's all I really have to say for now, so Peace Out!


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